Education University chief Frederick Ma says Hong Kong kindergartens should start teaching character education to children
- Ma says character education should start as early as possible to teach children to show more respect to teachers
- He says there could be issues with the implementation of liberal studies in schools, but education should not be blamed for every social problem
Education University chief Frederick Ma Si-hang has said character education should start as early as in kindergarten to teach children to show more respect to teachers, revealing his team had contacted several schools to implement a pilot project to promote gratitude and ethical development.
Ma also said there could be problems in the implementation of a liberal studies curriculum in secondary schools, but added it was not fair to blame education for every social problem.
In an interview with the Post earlier this week, Ma revealed his plan to step down as the university’s council chairman to focus on offering character education courses to young people.
On Sunday, Ma said on a radio programme he believed character education featuring respect, gratitude and empathy should be taught as early as possible in life.
“Character education should be applied in primary schools or even in kindergartens, because many things [such as a students’ views and values] are already fixed when students go to secondary schools, not to say when they enter university,” Ma said.
