MDT report Never too old to learn

Vong Pou Kuai (left), Leong Pek Kuan (middle) and Lam Wan Mei

Modern society has paid more and more attention to education, with an increasing amount of resources allocated to its development. Nevertheless, it seems that the focus is mostly on the education of young people, while there is, in fact, considerable demand for the education of senior residents in Macau.
Dr Lam Wan Mei, director of the Macau Polytechnic Institute’s (IPM) Seniors Academy (ACS), has spoken to the Times regarding the academy’s growth.
The Seniors Academy was established in 1999. It offers an assortment of courses, from photography to Chinese traditional painting and even traditional medicine.
“Our [idea] is to provide a chance to those people who are less knowledgeable because they didn’t have a chance to go to school in the past. Of course, there is another group who did go to school in the past, but did not [obtain a high-level education qualification]. This is common among the older generation,” Dr Lam said.
The director added that she has noticed a change in ACS students’ education qualifications. Therefore, the Academy has been annually reviewing its courses and syllabus, and adding courses that comprise more academic content in order to meet the varied demands of students.
In fact, she said that people have the misconception that the Seniors Academy is only a place for elders to spend their time and take courses “for fun.”
She stressed that the purpose of the Academy is to provide quality education to senior residents, as opposed to being “a place to spend their leisure time.” The director said that some students were even surprised by the requirements of the courses and asked why the academy is so strict.
In terms of the teaching methods of ACS, Dr Lam said that they have encouraged the teachers to make the classes more flexible and to use more visual aids.
“Our classes are usually 1.5 to two hours. But we allow the teachers to handle the class hours flexibly and there has to be a break of around ten minutes. Moreover, we want to use more multimedia in teaching instead of bombarding students with texts because the latter will discourage them and make them feel sleepy,” she said.
Teachers would also, from time to time, take their students out of the classroom to apply their newfound skills or attend exhibitions.
“For example, in our digital photography class, the teachers would regularly bring the students outside to take photos. (…) There are also teachers, even those teaching Chinese traditional medicine, who would take their students to herbal medicine markets in Gongbei. They are not there to buy anything though, but rather to learn how to recognize the most common types of medicines, so that students do not buy the wrong ones,” she said.
The Seniors Academy currently has a total of 480 students. Each year, ACS is only able to admit less than 140 students from more than 500 applicants. If a student has finished their four-year course, they must join other new students in the annual drawing of candidates to determine whether they can stay in the academy for another four years. Each student is allowed to study in ACS for a maximum of eight years only.
Dr Lam said that space restrictions have rendered the academy unable to admit more students. “Each year, we use software to determine who to admit. It is always [the case] that the number of candidates is far greater than the number of vacancies we can provide. However, with the (classroom) resources the IPM has, it is impossible for us to admit more students,” she said.
The director added that her department also does not have sufficient staff to handle the increasing administrative workload, which is also a reason why there is a limit on student admission.
When it comes to senior education in Macau in general, the director argues that senior education is a good measure in combating the problems that occur as a result of an aging population. “Many may think that an aging society will lead to the increase in healthcare and social security expenses. (…) Of course, housing and healthcare are very important for senior residents, but we also cannot neglect their spiritual needs. And senior education is what they need,” she said.
The director stated that there is not enough senior education provided in Macau. Therefore, it will become a clear challenge for society in the future.

A more fruitful life in Seniors Academy

Two ACS students, Leong Pek Kuan and Vong Pou Kuai, have shared their experience in the academy with the Times. They both stated that one of their aims in applying for the courses was to have a more fruitful life and to meet more people after retirement.
“Apart from being able to study the subjects that I like, I can also meet people from all walks of life [in the academy], as well as enjoying a more fruitful retirement,” said Leong Pek Kuan.
Vong Pou Kuai believes that she has learnt many things in ACS and has since been able to socialize with people there. “I had been really looking forward to studying here for many years,” she said.
Moreover, Leong Pek Kuan said that the information technology courses in ACS are helping her to communicate with her grandchildren.
Both students are approaching their eighth year in ACS, which means that they cannot apply for any new courses once they have finished their current ones. They said that their biggest wish is to have four more years of student life at ACS. JPL