Source: The Standard
Image:The Sun



Music teacher Boris Chow Bick-bo was among parents who had children with them as they took to the streets to protest against the introduction of national education this year. The thrust of a curriculum guide that has been circulated to schools "is biased and does not help children to tell right from wrong," Chow said, adding that parents should have been consulted before officials decided to introduce the subject in September. National education should not be started in primary schools anyway, he said, as pupils of that age are unable to think critically. Chow said it was the first time he had taken his four-year-old daughter to a protest, but he wanted her to learn about the importance of freedom. Many parents were starting their kids even younger - some were carrying babies or pushed toddlers in strollers.

Chris Sung, an IT worker who had his four-year-son with him, said he will send the boy to an international school to prevent him from being "brainwashed." He added: "Children already have many subjects. The addition of national education is just too much." Wong Man-yi, who works in trading, said she does not want her son to grow up with one-sided ideas. "If the government really wants to launch the program, it will have to make sure teaching material mentions both the positive and negative sides of China," she said. Her 13-year-old son, Chow Tsz-kei, said he wants to study history but in an objective manner.

Electronics industry worker Terry Lo, taking a break from marching in the shade of trees with his daughters aged seven and four, said the proposed national education curriculum should be revised as it praises the Communist Party rather than China. "I want my girls to learn how to stand up against injustice," Lo explained of the girls joining their first protest march. "However, they appeared a little exhausted so we decided to rest for a while."

Many parents said that despite the heat and the crowd they felt compelled to join the protest to make their voices heard. To help cope with conditions, some put children in strollers with the hoods up. Others carried fans to provide relief. One marcher sought to underline the message by pushing a stroller carrying a blind-folded doll, saying he does not want any kids to be brainwashed. Some kids were dressed as "Red Guards" from the Cultural Revolution in the sixties to suggest the subject is little more than a disguise for indoctrination.

Apart from parents and children, a large number of teachers and college students took part. Many teachers are worried about what they think will be a lack of choice in teaching materials and how children are to be assessed on national education.


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This post has been edited by R.E.D: Jul 30 2012, 02:26 AM