Gov’t to open new center for parenting

A new Parenting Education Center will be the engine of assistance for working youth as “many of them are young parents, having the need for knowledge on parenting,” Kong Chi Meng, vice director of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ), said yesterday.
The Center has been established to help polish the parenting skills of young parents, as well as sharing educational ideas and methods for getting along with their spouses and children. The Center will also provide resources to young parents to furnish them with the skills they need when supporting children with mental stress.
Previously, an Executive Regulation was issued on the establishment of the Education and Youth Development Bureau, a merger of the DSEJ and the Higher Education Bureau. In the Regulation, it is stipulated that the new center will replace the existing Taipa Educational Activity Center.
The vice director declined to identify the location of the new Center, and stressed that an announcement would be made when the location is confirmed by an Executive Order, meaning that the new Center may not replace the old Taipa facility in terms of location.
The press conference was held to announce the commencement of the public consultation period of the framework of youth policy in Macau for the next decade spanning from 2021 to 2030. The consultation period starts today and will end on December 11.
At the press conference, the vice director said that the major change in this coming decade’s youth policies is the eligibility requirements for age. In the previous decade, the applicable ages ranged from 13 to 29. In this, it will be between 13 and 35.
As the coverage will expand, more people from the working population will be included. Therefore, the vice director was asked to elaborate on what specific policies the bureau will propose to serve this group of people.
Besides the new education center, the official said that the bureau will establish more frequent communications with youth organizations to provide greater assistance to working youth, especially those having just graduated from school and started their career.
On the other hand, the proposed decade-long youth policy framework also includes collaborations with other public entities, such as the Macao Economic Bureau. “As we all know, we’re striving for a diversified economy and integrating into the Greater Bay Area,” Kong said. “That’s why we will work with the bureau to provide a roadmap and training [sessions] in those areas.”
As the vice director mentioned family building and parenting, the Times asked whether the bureau is educating younger generations on such topics to prepare them for the future, as students are prepared for their future careers.
Referring to their sex education materials in the moral and civic education curriculum, the education official said they will be used in foundational education. “In the future, they will be developed to be accessible by parents,” Kong explained. “Although it is also available now for parents’ use at home.”
The materials aim to teach students skills applicable to getting along with the opposite sex and on how to protect themselves sexually.
Kong also disclosed that the bureau discovered young people are undergoing issues of pressure and stress. The official did not give details as to why young people are found to be so, but said that the bureau will work with, for example, the Social Welfare Bureau, to offer education on measures to relieve stress.
When responding to a question about the relatively short consultation period, the vice director disclosed that the bureau has held more than 50 consultation sessions, receiving more than 1,400 opinions from more than 4,000 people representing more than 110 organizations.