Letters | How Hong Kong’s education system can support Belt and Road Initiative ambitions

Readers discuss the languages offered under the Diploma of Secondary Education, and Hong Kong students’ career choices

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Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee at a briefing by a representative of Aldar Properties in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on February 7, 2023. Photo: ISD/Xinhua

Published: 11:30am, 27 Feb 2025

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As a manager of a secondary school and former committee member of the Curriculum Development Council, I would like to share some viewpoints on the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exam subjects.

I sit on the incorporated management committee of a secondary school with a mediocre banding, which has a cohort of South Asian pupils – mostly of Pakistani descent – accounting for about 20 per cent of all students.

Upon graduation, South Asian students face challenges in pursuing careers due to cultural, religious and language disparities. Minorities are disadvantaged unless they have some upper hand in their bargaining power.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative aims to expedite infrastructure construction in developing countries, including in North Africa and the Middle East, where Arabic is widely spoken. If Hong Kong really wants to piggyback on the multinational initiative’s success, the city must have a sizeable population of Arabic speakers to help do business with partner countries.

Young people of Pakistani descent could be tapped in this regard because their linguistic and religious upbringing has links with Arabian culture. I suggest that Arabic be added to Category C (Other Language Subjects) in the 2026 DSE exams, as Urdu has been.