Consultative Documents

Teacher Writing a Formula on a Blackboar

Youth & Education

Youth are the future of society. We hope that they can…

Understand the current state of our nation and foster a sense of national identity.

Enjoy ample opportunities to develop their talents and achieve their dreams, no matter their background.

社會各界有不同意見

Proposals from society

1 Store up capital and provide multiple paths in academia and schooling

Provide eligible youth aged 18 and under with a Savings Fund, with joint contributions from their families and the government. The goal is to help young people save money and make preparations for future studies, property purchase, or to deal with illness if necessary.
Increase the quota of UGC-funded degrees at universities. The move allows all eligible local students to enjoy UGC-funded degrees (students who achieve a "33222" score in DSE exams can qualify for UGC-funded degrees).
Promote multifaceted curriculums such as funding schools to provide IB courses. Schools operating under the Direct Subsidy Scheme should reserve 15-20% of their places for grassroots students.
Relax the current thresholds for the "Tertiary Student Finance Scheme" (TSFS) and "Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students (FASP)" to ease the financial burden on students. Exempt all interest in living expenses loan for means-tested TSFS or FASP.
The government should review the positioning of university curriculums, associate degree courses and high-level curriculums in the education ladder. Improve the position of vocational education and related funding to encourage young people to map out their career paths according to their talents and temperaments.
Encourage cooperation between schools and businesses to promote dual-system vocational education programmes to train specialised talent by referencing a similar system in Germany.
Subsidise young people to study government-accredited courses offered by local corporations, as an incentive to attract more young talent to study at such institutions.
Provide funding to support the living expenses of young people who are undertaking working holiday programmes.

2 Teach students to identify with their country

Resume National Education to help the young form a proper and accurate understanding of their own country. Gradually foster their sense of identity and sense of belonging to our nation.
-Strengthen education on the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and the Basic Law. Allow young people to increase their understanding of the rights and responsibilities of a Chinese citizen, as well as both the Basic Law and "one country, two systems."
-Allow civil servants to utilise the government's Education Allowance to send their children to study on the Mainland (including at international schools).
-Reform Liberal Studies by offering it as an elective course. Set up a Liberal Studies curriculum database and request all schools to share their curriculum and teaching materials on the database for the general public to monitor. The government should set up guidelines for any self-selected news-related teaching materials by teachers and set restrictions on any online content that is biased or incorrect.
-The government should be responsible for reviewing the development of Liberal Studies and History textbooks and relevant teaching materials. The government should assign staff to monitor schools more frequently and ensure that teaching materials are neutral and factual. The government should also set up a task force to handle complaints about teaching methods and materials.
-Revise the "Code for the Education Profession of Hong Kong" and ensure that teachers are obligated to uphold the law and teach the virtues of obeying the law. Prevent teachers from allowing their political opinions to affect their teaching.
-Reform disciplinary protocols when teachers violate the code. Besides warnings and dismissals, there should be more punishment options such as "temporary suspension of registered teacher status" as well as other disciplinary methods such as only being able to teach part-time or having classes under observation. The move will give the government more options to hand out penalties according to the severity of each case.
-The EDB should compile a register of disgraced teachers or those who broke the law, and demand that schools must check the registry before they hire a new teacher. The roster should help ensure that disgraced teachers will no longer be able to lead the young astray.
-Regarding the significant controversy over the Chinese History question in the DSE exams, the government should comprehensively evaluate the Examinations Board. The review should cover the board's organisation, operation, as well as the process and evaluation mechanism for writing exam questions. Also, examine ways to strengthen the supervision that the EDB has over the Examinations Board to ensure that the Examinations Board's work adheres to education guidelines. Only then could the system instil the proper values in young students.

3

Support youth entrepreneurship

Improve the strategy with which senior secondary schools throughout Hong Kong encourage youth entrepreneurship by setting up a "flexible absences from class" scheme and run classes promoting entrepreneurship.
Allow the Continuing Education Fund to cover classes teaching entrepreneurship.
Fight for support from the Central Government to develop and create facilities that favour entrepreneurs in the Greater Bay Area.
Transform the "Youth Development Fund" into the "Youth Entrepreneur Fund" and increase the amount to $1 billion.
Promptly establish a "Greater Bay Area Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Hong Kong Youth." Use the platform to provide the latest news and overview of the Greater Bay Area. Turn the platform into a one-stop-shop to help young Hong Kongers process all the procedures needed to become an entrepreneur.

4 Youth expectations towards housing and property purchase

On helping young people purchase property:

Give high priority to families with children when selecting HOS flats.
Increase the quota for singles under the subsidised housing scheme.
Promote a "rent-and-buy" subsidised housing scheme to help young people who don't have enough money for a down payment. They can rent units under the scheme, with a portion of the rent going towards the purchasing price. The tenants then have the option to buy their flat once they have saved up enough money.
Establish a scheme that allows families with two or more people to tap into MPF funds to purchase residential properties. Let them withdraw half of their accumulated MPF funds for the down payment.
Revive the "Home Starter Loan Scheme" from 1998 and implement more stringent restrictions on the reselling of these flats with a ten-year embargo.

Increasing the number of rental properties for young people:

Gradually resume helping non-elderly singles to receive a rental property within three years of application and provide more guarantees for young people who need them.
Relax restrictions on single young people's PRH applications.
We suggest the government set up a fund to subsidise NGOs to launch a "co-living" pilot scheme to encourage more homeowners to renovate their flats and become landlords. Alternatively, increase the number of subsidised rental housing supply for young people by purchasing the apartments from homeowners.
Insert youth hostels into the housing ladder and put them under the management of the Transport and Housing Bureau. Set a supply goal to offer 500 new hostel spaces a year in response to young people's housing needs.

5 Increase the role that young people play in policymaking

Upgrade the "Youth Development Commission" to the "Youth Commission on Strategic Development" to monitor issues that affect young people. These include the future governance, policies, future development initiatives and the directions that different bureaus will take in the future as well as actual concrete policies.
Require all government bureaus and departments to establish a mechanism to involve young people in the policymaking process and scrutinise the effect that each policy will have on them.
Allow young people to submit suggestions before the announcement of the government's fiscal budget each year, and earmark funds for future implementation of said suggestions.

DAB proposals for further discussion

1

Provide eligible youth aged 18 and under with a Savings Fund which is jointly funded by their families and the government. The goal is to help young people save money for future studies, property purchases, or to deal with illness as needed.

2

Increase the intake quota at local universities and promote free tertiary education. Allow all local students who meet entrance criteria to enjoy subsidised study at local universities.

3

Reform Liberal Studies by making it an elective subject. Set up a Liberal Studies curriculum database and require all schools to submit their curriculum and teaching materials to the database for the general public to monitor.

4

Reform the disciplinary protocols for teachers and include a more extensive selection of punishments. The move will give the government more options to hand out penalties according to the severity of each case.

5

Insert youth hostels into the housing ladder and put them under the management of the Transport and Housing Bureau. Set a supply goal to offer 500 new hostel spaces a year in response to young people's housing needs.

6

Upgrade the "Youth Development Commission" to the "Youth Commission on Strategic Development". Appoint the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office as its secretariat to increase support for the "Youth Policy Commission."