Schools Can Decide Which Books To Keep: Government

The government won't tell schools which books they can and cannot stock in their libraries and they are able to decide this themselves, Education Secretary Christine Choi said on Tuesday.

During a trip to Beijing, the minister was asked by reporters whether schools should remove any books they have by certain authors, following reports that some titles have been stripped from public libraries.

"As for what is considered suitable for students, teachers have the professional ability to decide. We will not specify which type of books [school libraries] can or cannot have," she said.

"The principle is, as long as [the books] meet the learning needs of students, they are of high quality, and won't provide wrong information to pupils."

Choi said school libraries already update their collections every year, including by removing items that are not suitable.

The minister has wrapped up her trip to the capital, during which she briefed the head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Xia Baolong, on the latest developments regarding education in the SAR.