Last week, the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education examination results were released. This year, a total of 18,314 day-school candidates met the general college entrance requirements of 332A. 

With about 13,000 University Grants Committee-funded university places, plus the degree program places offered by various privately funded but government-recognized postsecondary institutions, it should not be too difficult for a student with the minimum qualifications to find a place to pursue a college degree. In addition, there are various subdegree programs, which also offer an alternative path to a senior-year university place in Hong Kong. One wonders why pressure today on students is not lower than when there were just two or three universities throughout Hong Kong.

Indeed, according to Lingnan University’s Hong Kong Children Happiness and LIFE Education Survey, pressure from studies in 2023 reached a three-year high. This was more pronounced for Form 4 and Form 5 students. We do not collect data on Form 6 students because we do not want to take time away from their studies. In line with this rise in pressure, sadly, at least 31 students in Hong Kong were suspected to have committed suicide last year. Another survey revealed that over 4 percent of primary and secondary school students had contemplated or attempted suicide. Yet another survey, conducted by the Hong Kong Christian Service, suggested that over 70 percent cited “academic issues” as the primary driver of suicide.

Amid all this, the Education Bureau in April launched the 4Rs Mental Health Charter as a guideline for promoting mental health. They are easy to remember, and include:

1. Rest: Help students cultivate healthy habits from an early age, including having enough rest, adequate sleep, and leisure activities.

2. Relaxation: Teach students to take the time to relax, and to take good care of their mental health.

3. Relationships: Strengthen the relationships among students, teachers and students, as well as parents and children, so students know they are not alone and that there are many people who love and support them.

4. Resilience: Equip students with the ability to face disappointments and adversities.

Unfortunately, in the face of an examination-centric culture, which many parents and teachers are knowingly or unknowingly reinforcing each day, this campaign is not going anywhere. Even worse than that, I recently read an article in Ming Pao, written by a senior educator, that asks us “to face the facts squarely”. He wrote that public examinations are “super important”. Students should face it and be strong enough to face the reality of life!

As someone who has been an advocate of LIFE (love, insight, fortitude and engagement) education for a long time, I have been disappointed by the lack of progress made in LIFE education, which in my view should be part of the school curriculum and should be taught properly. Unfortunately, although it was supposed to be included in the Liberal Studies in Module 1: Personal Development and Interpersonal Relationships, it was never taken seriously. Liberal Studies was designed with the best of intentions, but poorly implemented. It was supposed to bolster students’ critical thinking skills, but the results were starkly the opposite.

LIFE education must be taught properly. The most important message that can help students face academic pressure is not to tell them that public examinations are not important (no one will believe this) or that they are “super important”. The most important message that can relieve pressure is to encourage students to always pursue their very best at their own pace with full awareness of the many dimensions of personal development. We need to know that we are all born different. Not everybody can do well in examinations. Good examination results are just an instrumental goal that is convenient for us to check our learning skills, and they may be important as an intermediate goal for a career plan. However, they are certainly not a final goal. If they are at most instrumental, how can public examination results be “super important”?

What is super important is our own lives. We need to take care of our lives, learn to be on top of things affecting ourselves so we can pursue our own dreams. This is why rest and some play are important, why relaxation is important, why relationships are important, and why resilience is important. But resilience is not about stubbornly trying to pursue an instrumental goal. An ancient teaching from I Ching is: When you discover that a particular path leads to nowhere, change course. If you change course, the path will lead to new opportunities. True resilience awaits those that can adapt.

Over the weekend, I offered a session to help parents and students. One parent told me she was frustrated because her child insisted that he had not learned the things he was asked to do, and his uncooperative behavior made her lose her temper. I advised her: If you lose your temper, you will increase the distance between you and your child, hurting relationships. Parents must be composed and be a friend who will help when the child needs help. If children sense the love from their parents, are encouraged each time for making an effort instead of scoring higher marks, and focus on doing their best rather than scoring high marks, they will become resilient and may even do well in examinations.

The author is an adjunct research professor at the Pan Sutong Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic Policy Research Institute and Economics Department, Lingnan University.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.