The Ministry of Education and the Education Bureau (EDB) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government jointly organized the 20th-anniversary celebration opening ceremony and conference of the Mainland-Hong Kong Teachers Exchange and Collaboration Programme at South China Normal University in Guangzhou. Over 400 representatives from education departments across Mainland provinces and municipalities, former Mainland expert teachers (METs) who have participated in the programme, and delegates from the Hong Kong education sector attended the events.
Mr. Shu Gangbo, Deputy Director of the Office of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan Affairs of the Ministry of Education; Ms. Michelle Li, Permanent Secretary for Education of the HKSAR Government; Dr. Feng Wei, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Education of Guangdong Province; Mr. Liu Maozhou, First-level Inspector of the Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government (LOCPG) in the HKSAR; and Professor Yang Chengwei, Vice President of South China Normal University, presided over the opening ceremony.
During her address at the ceremony, Ms. Li highlighted the significant achievements of the programme over the past two decades, attributing its success to the steadfast support from the Ministry of Education, the Department of Education of Guangdong Province, the Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government (LOCPG) in the HKSAR, as well as various education departments across provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions. She also acknowledged the invaluable contributions of former Mainland expert teachers (METs), emphasizing their collective impact on advancing education in both Hong Kong and the Mainland.
She said that, as this year coincides with the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the EDB of the HKSAR Government, with the support of the Ministry of Education, will pilot the Resource Teacher and Principal Training Programme to nurture Hong Kong teachers and principals with potential through the teacher training and exchange base at South China Normal University. The teachers and principals will also receive guidance from Mainland experts recommended by the Ministry of Education, further strengthening exchanges and collaboration between the two places and raising the quality of education with concerted efforts.
Launched in the 2004/05 school year, the Mainland-Hong Kong Teachers Exchange and Collaboration Programme annually selects outstanding teachers and research fellows from various provinces and municipalities across China. These educators are sent to Hong Kong to collaborate with schools, offering professional guidance in subjects and cross-curricular areas such as STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics) education and Chinese culture. To date, the programme has welcomed over 800 Mainland expert teachers (METs) to Hong Kong, engaging with more than 1,000 primary and secondary schools as well as kindergartens in the region.
