Fewer one-on-one continuing education lessons approved

The Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) is no longer approving some one-on-one continuing education courses, according to Wong Chi Iong, Chief Executive of the Division of Continuing Education Scheme of DSEJ.
During yesterday’s TDM radio program Macau Forum, a local woman surnamed Lo called to complain about the DSEJ because she could not take one-on-one lessons anymore.
“Before, I could take one-on-one lessons. However, now there must be many students. Isn’t that a gathering? Does the crowd not affect pandemic prevention measures? Should we keep a distance from other students?” asked Lo.
In August, the MSAR government announced its plan for the fourth phase of the continuing education program. The program started on September 1 this year and will last until August 31, 2023.
The government is subsidizing up to 6,000 patacas for each qualified local resident aged 15 or above to continue their own education in a wide range of subjects.
The DSEJ had previously disclosed that the program had been expanded on an experimental basis to cover courses run in Zhuhai. These courses are either accredited or recommended by the Zhuhai government.
There were as many as 150,000 participants registered in the third phase of the plan as of the middle of last year.
Previously, many local residents were using the subsidy to study for university degrees on the mainland or abroad.
DSEJ ranking official Wong called TDM radio and responded to Lo’s complaints.
According to Wong, the DSEJ is not approving one-on-one lessons anymore because the department wants to use public money more wisely.
Wong said that the DSEJ will consider approving these lessons only when the lesson requires specific equipment, or when the subject must be lectured on a one-on-one basis. These include driving courses or piano lessons.
Other lessons, such as languages, computer, dance and accounting management, will not be considered to require one-on-one teaching, according to Wong.
For the fourth phase of the continuing education program, the DSEJ received applications from 350 organizations. Only 220 were approved.
In the third phase of the continuing education program, the DSEJ filed 41 reports regarding violations to the judiciary department.
In order to prevent fraud in the continuing education scheme, students and lecturers are required to take attendance twice for every class now.
The DSEJ set a higher bar for the fourth round of continuing education lessons. Courses such as pet grooming, singing and other entertainment-type subjects were removed from the continuing education program.