EXCO | EDUCATION | Gov’t outlines basic academic skills students should meet

ExCo’s spokesperson Leong Heng Teng

The Executive Council has given its support to a set of basic academic skills, outlined by administrative regulations that must be followed by non-tertiary local education institutions, including kindergartens.
ExCo’s spokesperson Leong Heng Teng clarified on Friday that after gathering opinions from experts and conducting a pilot project, the government agreed to lay out a set of basic academic skills that should be attained by students from kindergartens to primary and secondary schools at the end of each education level.
“Basic academic requirements are essential skills outlined by the government which students are required to possess at the end of each level of education; including knowledge, abilities, emotions, attitudes and fundamental values,” he said.
These set of requirements will be taken into account by local schools when preparing and defining curricula, as well as when evaluating students’ performance, choosing textbooks, and evaluating the school’s pedagogical qualities.
Mr Leong and an Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) representative attending Friday’s press conference did not elaborate on how this set of requirements will be implemented, and if sanctions will be applied when schools fail to comply.
ExCo said that the administrative regulation will come into force a day after its publication, and will take effect gradually starting the coming school year.
The DSEJ senior officer further clarified that the government will continue to ensure school’s freedom to operate and outline their own curricula, but they would like to ensure that students meet a series of skills and academic requirements at the completion of each stage of their education.

Science and Technology Council secretariat cut

The Executive Council (ExCo) has given the green light to shut down the Science and Technology Council Secretariat, ExCo’s spokesperson Leong Heng Teng revealed on Friday. The government is looking to axe the secretariat in line of its recent reshuffling efforts.
Mr Leong did not confirm whether the administration has plans to close down other similar secretariats: “I can’t promise that the government won’t decide to axe other secretariats.”
With the axing of the secretariat, Macau’s Science and Technology Development Fund (FDCT) will be tasked with providing administrative support to the Science and Technology Council. Employees currently working for the secretariat will be transferred to the FDCT.