Organised by the Education Bureau (Applicable to Primary and Secondary Schools)
Thematic Mainland Exchange Programmes for Secondary School Students (2024/25) (7)
Summary
This circular memorandum invites secondary schools (including special schools) to nominate Secondary 1 to 6 students and teachers (including principals) to participate in the captioned programmes. Relevant information will also be sent to schools via the “Fast Information Transmission System - School Messaging Module” (SMM).
Details
The Education Bureau (EDB) organises “Thematic Mainland Exchange Programmes for Secondary School Students (2024/25) (7)” (the Programmes). In line with the school curriculum, the Programmes aims at providing different learning experiences for students to enhance their understanding of the history, culture, arts, ethnic minorities, economy and conservation, etc. in the Mainland (including Jiangxi, Guangxi, Chongqing and Sichuan), thereby enhancing their sense of national identity.
The EDB has commissioned service providers to organise three tours outside the Guangdong Province, ranging from four to five days from January to May 2025, for Secondary 1 to 6 students. Please refer to Annex 1 (Chinese version only) for details of the Programmes and application procedures, and Annex 2 (Chinese version only) for the itineraries of respective tours.
Schools should proactively encourage students who have not joined any Mainland exchange programmes before to participate in at least one subsidised Mainland exchange programme (MEP) in their secondary stage. In addition, starting from 10 July 2024, non-Chinese citizens who are permanent residents of Hong Kong may apply for the “Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Permanent Residents (Non-Chinese Citizens)” from the China Travel Service Entry Permit Service Hong Kong Limited. Schools should remind eligible students to complete the application procedures soon so that they can use the E-channels at ports of entry for immigration clearance and need not fill in the Arrival Card when entering the Mainland, thus enhancing clearance efficiency. For details, please refer to the respective webpage (https://www.ctshk.com/mep/zh/nrep_notice_mep/).
Schools may apply for more than one tour in the 2024/25 school year. Schools intending to nominate students and teachers to participate in the Programme(s) may download the application form from the website of the service provider from 9 December 2024. The completed application form should be returned to the service provider by fax within the specified period of time [Please refer to Annex 2 (Chinese version only)] before the planned departure date of the tour.
Starting from the 2024/25 school year, schools will receive the latest itinerary information and application details of MEPs for students via the SMM. During the transitional period, the EDB will continue to issue individual Circular Memoranda on MEPs and adjust relevant arrangements based on actual circumstances.
Enquiries
For enquiries about the enrolment and itineraries, please contact the service provider. For general enquiries on the Programme, please contact the Life-wide Learning and Mainland Exchange Section 2 of the EDB at 2892 6517. For more information about MEPs, 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. 246/2024. (Download)