News
Mainland Exchange Programme for Secondary School Students (2023/24) (Enrichment Series)
Summary
This circular memorandum invites secondary schools (including special schools) to nominate Secondary 3 to 6 students and teachers (including principals) to participate in the captioned programme.
Details
2. It has been set out in the Chief Executive’s 2023 Policy Address that more opportunities will continuously be provided for students to participate in the Mainland study tours. The targets include reserving adequate places for all students in publicly‑funded schools to participate in at least one subsidised Mainland exchange programme each in their primary and secondary stages under the Mainland Exchange Programme for Junior Secondary and Upper Primary Students and the Mainland Exchange Programme for Secondary School Students.
3. The Education Bureau (EDB) issued the circular memorandum regarding the four tours of the Mainland Exchange Programme for Secondary School Students (2023/24) in August 2023 (EDBCM No. 133/2023). Currently, EDB launches the Mainland Exchange Programme for Secondary School Students (2023/24) (Enrichment Series) (the Programme). In line with the school curriculum, the Programme aims at providing different learning experiences for students to deepen their understanding of the history, culture, technological and economic development, etc. of the Mainland (including Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan, Nanjing, Xian, Hangzhou and Shaoxing), thereby enhancing their sense of national identity.
4. EDB has commissioned service providers to organise six tours, ranging from four to five days, between January and August 2024 for Secondary 3 to 6 students to join. Please refer to Annex 1 (Chinese version only) for details of the Programme and application procedures, and Annex 2 (Chinese version only) for the itineraries and other information of these six tours.
5. Schools may apply for more than one tour in the 2023/24 school year. Student participation is on a voluntary basis. Schools should proactively encourage students who have not participated in any Mainland exchange programmes before, in particular those at Secondary 3, to join the Programme, with a view to increasing their understanding of the country and deepening what they have learned in line with the school curriculum (such as history, culture, technological and economic).
6. Schools intending to nominate students and teachers to participate in the Programme may download the application form from the website of respective service providers from 22 January 2024. The completed application form should be returned to respective service provider by fax within the specified period of time (refer to Annex 2 (Chinese version only)) before the planned departure date of the tour.
Enquiries
7. For enquiries about the enrolment and itineraries, please contact respective service provider. For general enquiries about the Programme, please contact the Life-wide Learning and Mainland Exchange Section 2 of EDB at 2892 5762 or 2892 6429. For more information about the Mainland exchange programmes for students, please visit the “Passing on the Torch” website (https://www.passontorch.org.hk/en/index.html).
For further details of the Scheme, please refer to the Education Bureau Circular Memorandum No. 15/2024. (Download)