A kindergarten principal on Wednesday urged schools and parents not to drill children for primary school admission, fearing that it could dampen their enthusiasm for learning. The comments came after the Education Bureau inspected all government-funded kindergartens and asked some of them to cease interview drills for pupils preparing for admission to primary school. Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, principal Lam Chui-ling from the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers insisted it is uncommon for kindergartens to provide interview drills. She explained teachers could be under pressure from parents who wish to enrol their children to prestigious or "unconventional" primary schools. Apart from kindergartens, tutorial centres are also offering mock interviews for a fee. Some even promised to mimic the interviews from certain popular schools by teaching children how to answer questions such as, 'How do you get to school?' and 'What is the name of the Secretary for Justice?'. "I believe this approach puts pressure on children. In certain instances, particularly for top primary schools, such as certain international or prestigious schools, they have high requirements. That will prompt parents to pursue prestige, inevitably adding more burden on the children," Lam warned. She added some parents go as far as filming multiple videos of their children for admission purposes and the kids may become nervous in front of cameras in the future.
