The head of the Education and Youth Development Bureau’s (DSEDJ) Curriculum Development and Assessment Division, Cheang Sek Kit, said yesterday that the new curriculum requirements for schools and students of different ages in the new school year have merely been fine-tuned from the previous “curriculum framework”, and there were no significant adjustments.
Cheang made the remarks in a phone-in programme hosted by public broadcaster TDM’s Chinese-language radio station, Ou Mun Tin Toi, responding to a resident’s concern that the implementation of the new requirements would increase pressure on kindergarten children.
Cheang pointed out that kindergartens in Macau currently do not require kids in K1 to write, adding that the bureau has fully researched and consulted schools before implementing new curriculum requirements, so that schools can design courses according to their own characteristics.
DSEDJ Non-Tertiary Education Department Chief Choi Man Chi, who also attended yesterday’s phone-in programme, said that the bureau’s latest “First Lesson of the New Academic Year” was to teach students about family roles, caring for themselves and their family members, adding that the bureau has also launched the “First Lesson for Parents”, which is a short film to demonstrate how to arrange playtime and learning time for kindergarten and primary school children, as well as to adapt to their children’s transition to learning life and to encourage parents to be more concerned about their children’s use of the internet.
Cheang took the example of the information technology (IT) curriculum for primary school and junior and senior high school students, which have been fine-tuned regarding its subject content, including making it clear that schools have to allocate a certain number of lessons to teach subjects such as artificial intelligence (AI) and computer programming, while at the same time enabling students to master relevant logical thinking. However, Cheang said, there has not been much increase or decrease in the overall curricula.
Choi said that in the run-up to the start of the new school year, the bureau has been strengthening exchanges with school leaders and parents, making early planning for school transport, coordinating with bookshops and school uniform suppliers, and paying attention to students’ adaptation to learning and school life.
The new school year for most local schools commenced on Monday,
The Macau Federation of Trade Unions (commonly known as Gung Luen in Cantonese) Student Counselling Service Deputy Director Lam Hio Chan told the phone-in programme that children have the ability to adjust their emotions and should be able to adapt to the new school year in a gradual and orderly manner. Lam also said that parents should pay more attention to their children’s emotions in adapting to school life, and if the children’s negative emotions would persist for a period of time, their parents needed to keep a close eye on the situation and communicate with teachers and counsellors in a timely manner.
The Macau Federation of Trade Unions (commonly known as Gung Luen in Cantonese) Student Counselling Service Deputy Director Lam Hio Chan (left), DSEDJ Non-Tertiary Education Department Chief Choi Man Chi (centre) and the chief of the Education and Youth Development Bureau’s (DSEDJ) Curriculum Development and Assessment Division, Cheang Sek Kit, attend a phone-in programme hosted by public broadcaster TDM’s Chinese-language radio station, Ou Mun Tin Toi, about the start of the new school year yesterday. – Photo courtesy of TDM
