A secondary school principal has lent his backing to students who surrounded the education secretary’s car in protest last Saturday. Chu Kwok-wah told i-Cable on Tuesday that he did not think they made any “major mistakes” in their demonstration against Eddie Ng Hak-kim.
Around 100 students at the Queen Elizabeth School Old Students’ Association Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School were at the scene last weekend urging Ng to step out of his vehicle and receive a letter signed by some 300 students. The letter expressed concerns about the education system, touching on the controversial TSA tests, the teaching of Chinese in Mandarin, the teaching of simplified Chinese characters and the recent spate of student suicides.
“Students need certain experiences to learn how to reflect upon their actions,” said Chu. He added that he believed that they were good students and had the ability to be rational and peaceful. He was proud of them, he said.
Chu also said that he was notified only 12 hours before the event that students wanted to hand the education secretary a letter and there was little time for students and teachers to communicate.
Students said that they received no punishment from the principal and were very thankful to him. However, they disagreed with Ng’s statement that some people from outside the school were interfering and his concerns that “schools will become politicised.”
See also: Several primary schools refuse to take part in trial TSA tests
Chan Kwok-hin, a secondary student involved in the protests on Saturday, said: “This whole thing was planned by the students and did not have any people or parties from outside the school involved. The only people from outside the school were alumni and Ng.”
Ng was accused of playing on his phone while students protested outside his car. He has since dismissed the accusations.
