New academic competencies ‘promote love for motherland’

The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Elsie Ao Ieong, has published amendments to the basic academic competencies for primary and secondary education.

The changes, published in yesterday’s official government gazette, amended the academic competencies for Moral and Civic Education, History, Information Technology, Arts, Society, and Humanities, among other subjects.

The new rules take effect today and will impact the P1 and P3 levels from the first day of the new academic year 2024/2025.

All other levels of primary education and the junior years of secondary education will be affected from the first day of the academic year 2025/2026.

For senior secondary education, the rules will be enforced starting in the 2026/2027 academic year.

However, the dispatch notes that if conditions allow, the new competencies should be implemented as early as possible from the upcoming academic year.

The changes aim to promote love for the motherland and Macau, as well as deepen knowledge about Macau’s history, the Basic Law, and the “One Country, Two Systems” principle.

The changes include several new topics related to the internet, such as promoting the understanding that the internet world is fictional and recognizing the physical and mental health harms associated with obsessive internet gaming.

Another major focus is on competencies related to national security. These include fostering understanding of national identity and pride in being Chinese, along with the understanding that one’s personal life is closely related to national security.

The new competencies also address Macau’s history, including the Portuguese presence in Macau.

For example, students should be able to address the settlement process until the occupation by the Portuguese in Macau and the respective influences through analysis of various sources of historical data, and understand the historical evolution of the establishment of the administrative bodies of China and Portugal in Macau after the Portuguese acquired the right to live in Macau.

Another important competency will be to be able to describe the process and meaning of Macau’s return to China’s sovereignty.