Gov’t Steps Up Efforts in Introducing STEAM to Students

Chief Executive John Lee unveiled a series of measures to strengthen Hong Kong’s education system in the Policy Address on Wednesday.

Starting from the current school year, publicly funded schools are expected to plan STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) education internally. These schools will be required to organise opportunities for students to participate in STEAM activities every year. By the 2024-25 school year, these schools should include coding curricula at the upper primary level, and artificial intelligence elements in the junior secondary curriculum.

“I am pleased to note that the Education Bureau will proactively step up the promotion of STEAM education ‘for all,’ ‘for fun’ and “for diversity” to shape students’ scientific and creative thinking, and enhance the support and professional development for STEAM teachers with a view to identifying and nurturing students with potential,” said Tim Lui, Chairman of the Education Commission, in a Tuesday press release.

Additionally, the government plans to gradually increase UGC-funded postgraduate places for students from approximately 5,600 placements to 7,200 placements in 2024-25 academic year.

For vocational and professional education, the government plans to increase the number of subsidised places for higher education programmes by 3,000 starting from the next academic year.

Other educational measures in the Policy Address include promoting national identity through Chinese culture and Basic Law learning. Lee stated a grant of HK$60 million has been set aside for kindergartens to assist in organising Chinese culture-related activities from a young age.

Efforts to provide assistance to hospitalised individuals and students with autism spectrum disorder are also included in the new Policy Address.