Liberal Studies (通識科) - Hong Kong Style

It is now a well-known story. A popular writer (Tao Jie, 陶傑) was asked to tackle a Liberal Studies examination. His answers, identity hidden, was judged by teachers, presumably experts in the subject, to have failed. The cases was reported in the following news report.

http://cablenews.i-cable.com/webapps/news_video/index.php?news_id=303204

One of the questions concerns a speech made by the prime minister of China, Wen Jiaobao, on low-pollution economic development. Tao made some comments on the feasibility based on the political situation in China. The answer was judged by one of the marking teachers to be out of scope, because it was too political, ... But the speech itself was obviously political. What did they expect the students to do? It was said that there were no prescribed answers, and that any reasonable answer should be acceptable. It was obviously not the case.

The way the questions are set, and the way the marking is done, do not inspire a lot of confidence in the subject as a test of the students’ abilities.

The whole episode is more than just a laughing matter. Liberal Studies is one of the four compulsory subjects in the 334 system. Thus it is a significant component of the basis on which entrance into university is determined. However, the syllabus of the subject is so broad, and the teachers are so used to marking according to prescribed answers, that makes the teaching and testing of the subject very problematic. There is still a long way to go in reforming the education system in Hong Kong.