3 easy wins to modernise Hong Kong’s education system

Much has been said about Hong Kong’s vitality as a higher education hub. Yet, a radical rethink of our primary and secondary school system is equally necessary.

The need for a blueprint has never been clearer. Our world is increasingly defined by the powerful forces of automation enabled by artificial intelligence (AI), geopolitical tensions and flux, as well as conflicting values and perspectives. Workplaces and communities alike demand talent in possession of relational intelligence, technological literacy and pragmatism, and functional dexterity.

Here are a few reasonable conjectures. Those who can communicate with empathy and contextual awareness are more likely to secure increasingly scarce entry-level jobs. Those who embrace the reasonings of technology while remaining aware of its pitfalls will see their productivity enhanced. Those who can straddle multiple disciplines are less exposed to the risks posed by a well-trained AI agent.

The billion-dollar question is whether Hong Kong is equipping its youth with these desired characteristics. Or is a mixture of inertia and risk aversion holding us back from genuinely upskilling our workforce?

To positively disrupt the status quo, three low-hanging fruit should be pursued. Firstly, the purpose and format of school assessments must change. While rote memorisation and recall-centric quizzes may have rightfully ceased to be the primary mode of assessment, AI also poses challenges for in-school submissions. A third way is needed.

Much greater emphasis must be placed on verbal communication and the in-depth dialogical cross-examination of ideas. We should introduce shorter but smartly designed examinations that test higher-order evaluative and comparative skills, coupled with a mandatory in-person viva voce – an oral examination of their answers – with suitable workload support offered for examiners.