Alexis Tam pledges more investment in education sector

The government is planning to invest further resources in the city’s education sector, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, announced on Friday.
He acknowledged that more financial resources should be allocated in order to help develop Macau’s education sector, mainly primary and secondary schools.
“We need more resources, namely financial resources, to help support our educational sector. We need a policy. We will elaborate on this and unveil our plans in March when we deliver this year’s Policy Address,” he explained.
Speaking on the sidelines of the re-opening ceremony of a school hall at Saint Paul’s School, Mr Tam mentioned that he has recently visited several associations. All of these associations have outlined the lack of human resources and land, which are recurring problems in Macau among various sectors.
“We need to plan ahead, and, regarding the lack of schoolteachers, I believe we can facilitate the labor import policy, as we do not have enough professionals to teach children with special needs, for instance,” he stressed.
Mr Tam noted that Macau’s government pays great attention to the development of a more “advanced and modern” education system, hoping to provide residents with proper vocational opportunities.
The Secretary said that the authorities are also developing plans to improve residents’ professional training in close collaboration with the Talents Development Committee. Respective policies and measures will be announced at a suitable time, he added.
Saint Paul’s School re-opened its Clementina Leitão Ho School Hall on Friday.
Alejandro Salcedo, the school’s principal, said that the hall has played an important role in the school’s history. “Built 27 years ago, this hall has witnessed countless gatherings, staff meetings, conferences, graduations, performances and cultural activities,” he said.
Saint Paul’s School is known for rejecting paper almost entirely in order to develop an e-learning curriculum. Today, its students learn in e-classrooms, using tablet computers. More interactive lessons were introduced to replace “the good old days” of textbooks and blackboards.
Mr Salcedo said that the school has the ability to adapt to the changing needs and times, which he believes has kept them alive. “Today we take pride in re-opening this state-of-the-art school hall, and not only securing Saint Paul’s School traditions of excellence and innovation, but also inspiring and hopefully meeting students’ expectations,” he said.