On 26 October, the 24th China International Education Conference officially opened. At the sub-forum titled ‘Heritage, Integration, and Openness: Education in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Facing the World,’ participants shared the latest achievements and experiences in the development of education in the Greater Bay Area.

‘Support the construction of an international education demonstration zone in the Greater Bay Area, introduce world-renowned universities and specialised colleges, and promote the construction of world-class universities and disciplines...’ The Outline of the Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area clearly states that the Greater Bay Area should be developed into a hub for education and talent.

As one of the four major cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, how can Hong Kong contribute to the development of an international education demonstration zone?

Huang Jinliang, the 14th National People's Congress representative for Hong Kong and chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, said that Hong Kong should leverage its educational advantages to become an international education hub in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, adding that ‘higher education is crucial to the education system.’

Hong Kong boasts a concentration of world-class universities, high levels of internationalisation, fully English-taught programmes, a strong faculty, a focus on comprehensive skills, abundant educational resources, short programmes with low costs, relatively low application requirements, numerous employment opportunities, and a relatively safe environment... Huang Jinliang outlined the advantages of Hong Kong's higher education system and noted that there are currently 22 higher education institutions in Hong Kong that confer degrees, 11 of which are statutory universities. Most universities in Hong Kong conduct their programmes in English.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong has been rolling out various policies to attract talent. Huang Jinliang explained that Hong Kong has recently launched the ‘Outstanding Innovation and Science Scholars Programme’ to provide financial support to the eight publicly funded universities in Hong Kong, enabling them to offer more competitive terms when hiring internationally renowned innovation and science scholars and teams to work in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Policy Address, released on 25 October, proposed that the cap on non-local students at the eight universities funded by the University Grants Committee will be increased from 20% to 40%.

How can Hong Kong fully leverage its educational advantages?

Huang Jinliang stated that the fundamental function of education is talent cultivation. Hong Kong should play a leading role in talent cultivation while also taking the lead in scientific and technological innovation.

‘Building a global science and technology innovation centre is one of the main strategic goals of developing Hong Kong into an international education hub, and the most important support for science and technology innovation is universities.’ Huang Jinliang suggested that we should make full use of the advantages of the cluster development of many high-level universities in the Greater Bay Area to build an international education hub in the Greater Bay Area. At the same time, we should strengthen the deep integration of Hong Kong's higher education with the industrial development of the Greater Bay Area and give full play to Hong Kong's exemplary role in international exchanges and cooperation.

‘Actively promote the construction of schools (classes) for Hong Kong and Macao students. Currently, there are nine schools for Hong Kong and Macao students in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan and other places, and 29 primary and secondary schools in the province have classes for Hong Kong and Macao students, enrolling a total of more than 8,000 Hong Kong and Macao students.’ The reporter noticed that Li Jinjun mentioned a new exploration in the development of educational cooperation in the Greater Bay Area: the construction of schools for Hong Kong and Macao students.

Liang Yan, Director of the Office of External Relations at Jinan University and Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Jinan University Education Development Foundation, introduced Jinan University's innovative exploration and successful experience in guiding the establishment of schools for Hong Kong and Macao students.

In September 2021, the Affiliated School of JNU for Hong Kong and Macao Students (Guangzhou) officially opened, enrolling 300 students in its first year, 85% of whom are Hong Kong students. This is also the first school for Hong Kong and Macao students in the Greater Bay Area and even in the whole country. Since then, two more Affiliated Schools of JNU for Hong Kong and Macao Students have been established in Dongguan and Foshan.

‘The Affiliated School of JNU for Hong Kong and Macao Students was established against the backdrop of the development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Jinan University combined the characteristics of overseas Chinese education and educational resources from all over the world to unleash the potential of its basic education brand. Through a ’famous school + famous enterprise‘ cooperation model, it guided the establishment of a school for Hong Kong and Macao students positioned as ’The Tradition of JINAN University, The Vision for The Greater Bay Area, The Characteristics of Hong Kong And Macao." Liang Yan said that during the establishment process, Jinan University provided strong support to the three Affiliated Schools of JNU for Hong Kong and Macao Students in four areas: brand building, scientific research cooperation, student training, and talent cultivation.

In her view, the School for Hong Kong and Macao Students is a useful attempt at the integrated development of basic education in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. In the future, Jinan University will focus on promoting the high-quality and innovative development of the ‘one door, three schools’ model of JNU for Hong Kong and Macao, jointly exploring the construction of a ‘talent cultivation model’ that connects kindergarten, primary school, junior high school, high school and university, and serving the development of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Deng Qiangguang, chairman of the Affiliated School of JNU for Hong Kong and Macao Students and chairman of Hong Kong Victoria Harbour Education Group, believes that the Affiliated School of JNU for Hong Kong and Macao Students is different from existing international school education models. It follows mainland laws, regulations and education management systems, while also drawing on the educational concepts and curriculum settings of Hong Kong and Macao. This ensures that Hong Kong and Macao students studying in the mainland can smoothly transition to higher education in the mainland or return to Hong Kong and Macao to continue their studies, while also cultivating their sense of identity and belonging to their motherland and Chinese culture.

‘In terms of the overall curriculum structure, we started from scratch. Experts developed a plan based on the students' and parents' circumstances, with primary school Chinese focusing on the mainland curriculum using People's Education Press textbooks, supplemented by some Hong Kong courses and incorporating IB theory and teaching methods. For secondary school, we use the Hong Kong curriculum with additional history and Chinese courses. For high school, the curriculum is primarily based on the DSE (Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education) curriculum.’

Deng Qiangguang analysed the school's practical approach from four aspects: educational philosophy, educational model, patriotic education, and coordinated development. He also discussed the difficulties faced by the School for Hong Kong and Macao Students in terms of teacher training, educational quality assessment, and educational resource allocation.