Letter: Miracle of Hong Kong's schools
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: The Department for Education official quoted in your article, 'Education official in row over class sizes' (5 September), is badly misinformed if he really believes that authorities in the Far East are happy with the situation in which they achieve 'high standards with less money and classes of 40 to 50 pupils'.
I was involved in policy making in the area of education in Hong Kong until last summer and, in that case, rapidly increasing allocations are being made specifically to reduce class sizes and upgrade teachers' qualifications.
Students' astonishingly high standards there have a great deal to do with parental attitudes and the demands of the job market, but they owe nothing whatsoever to class sizes, which are acknowledged to be far too large.
Yours sincerely,
PHILIP MACKLEY
Escrick, York
5 September
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments