Straight-A Student Advocates Education Equality

GBS alumnus Arnold Chan shares with Oriental Daily News that grass-root students receive fewer opportunities given the education inequality in Hong Kong. Therefore, he set up the non-profit organization “Teach4HK” to recruit university graduates from various academic programs to be teaching fellows at grass-root schools for one year.

Arnold Chan finds himself a blessed individual under the education system of Hong Kong. He was born in a middle-class family and studied at prestigious schools. With his straight-A result in Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE), he was admitted to the Global Business Studies (GBS) programme of The Chinese University of Hong Kong Business School. Upon graduation, the GBS alumnus landed a million-dollar job at an investment bank and later pursued an MBA degree at Harvard Business School.

Undertaking a path that many parents aspire to for their children, Chan keeps in mind his volunteering experience of visiting underprivileged children during secondary school. In an interview with Oriental Daily News, Chan shares that grass-root students receive fewer opportunities and ponders on the education inequality of Hong Kong. Therefore, he walked away from his high-paying job and devotes himself to education, hoping to broaden the horizons of grass-root students.

Three years ago, Chan set up a non-profit organisation called “Teach4HK” to recruit university graduates from various academic programmes as teaching fellows at grass-root schools for one year. On top of regular classroom teaching, the teaching fellows are responsible for the extra-curricular activities and career planning of their students. They take learning outside the classroom, such as bringing students to interact with English-speaking staff at multinational companies in Central, or experiencing different districts where students can understand the world beyond their community.

Chan considers the one-year experience at grass-root schools to be important leadership training for the teaching fellows: “No matter whether they will continue to be teachers in the future, they will become true leaders of the society in the long run, driving changes to the educational system of Hong Kong.”

Please click here (PDF) for the full article written in Chinese.

Source: Oriental Daily News
Date published: 28 January, 2018