Study trip's first batch tasked to learn about national identity, seizing opportunities

James Lee

Two hundred secondary five students yesterday became the first batch to go to a mandatory mainland study tour under an overhauled citizenship and social development curriculum.

Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki said the target is to send 40,000 secondary students on mainland study tours by the end of the school year.

Chan saw off Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin and the participating students and teachers from New Territories Heung Yee Kuk Yuen Long District Secondary School and Hon Wah College from West Kowloon Station.

Chan encouraged students to learn about the development of the mainland to "strengthen their sense of national identity" and to "seize vast opportunities." He added: "They'll be in secondary six next year for the [Diploma of Secondary Education exams]. That means choosing universities and majors, so it's an important stage in their lives. We've told them the important thing is to experience the nation's developments and combine that with their own interests."

The 40,000 students who will have visited the mainland by August do not have to submit reports to authorities, but whether assignments are required by schools is a decision for them.

The trips are a mandatory component of citizenship and social development - previously liberal studies before the subject was overhauled to introduce units on patriotism and national development for the DSE exams.

Secondary five students from Hon Wah College said the two-day trip includes visits to local attractions and tech companies in Guangzhou plus exchange visits with other schools.

They have to submit a 1,000-word essay on opportunities in the Greater Bay Area and how youth can contribute to the national economy.

"It's my first time going on a study trip to the mainland with my classmates," a student said. "I hope I can make some new friends there."

Speaking later at the opening ceremony of the study tour at Zhixin High School in Guangzhou, Choi thanked various officials for backing the endeavor.

She also reminded the Hong Kong students to be good "image ambassadors" for the city.

Mainland study tours are fully subsidized, including accommodation, transportation and travel insurance. But students who ask to withdraw from a trip must pay a tour fee and additional expenses.

The Education Bureau in February scaled down the initial proposal by limiting destinations to Guangdong and shortening tours from five days to three, with the shortest set for a day - a move that some parents and pro-Beijing educators were quick to criticize.

Hong Kong Federation and Education Workers chairman Wong Kam-leung said one day was too short and tours should be at least three days.

cjames.lee@singtaonewscorp.com