Letters | Why Hong Kong needs to take bigger steps on childcare: new standards are a return to the 1970s
- The focus of the latest policy address on children’s development, rather than simply on providing care, is commendable
- However, the proposed improvement in the carer to child ratio is a return to the standards of legislation in 1976
First, the ultimate goal of all these improvements is facilitation of children’s development. More importantly, this recognises the nature of childcare services as integrating development and care. Even though it has long been accepted by professionals related to children’s issues, foreign governments and transnational organisations around the world, the term “children’s development” rarely appeared in previous governments’ policy objectives on childcare services.
Compared with previous terms of administration which only focused on care, the move in the recent policy address is undoubtedly a step forward.
It is really an interesting question whether applying a standard formulated 40 years ago to modern childcare service should be termed an “improvement”. The government has stressed the importance of children’s development on the one hand, but has suggested an “improvement” that is very minimal on the other. The staffing ratio of 1:6 might have been appropriate for the needs of the 1970s when childcare services only focused on care. Without question, this does not fit modern needs.
