Fast Eddie: Hong Kong education minister Ng Hak-kim insists reading 30 books a month is 'a piece of cake'

Long-distancereader,educationministerEddieNgHak-kim.Photo:FelixWong

EducationministerEddieNgHak-kim,whowaswidelyridiculedforsayinghecouldread30booksamonthandmorethan10booksduringalong-distanceflight,wentastepfurtheronThursdaybyclaimingthatdevouringthatmuchwordswas“apieceofcake”.

Addressingtheaudienceataneventpromotingcareerplanning,Ngsaidhehadrequiredhimselftoread30“books,magazinesandpublications”sincegraduatingfromuniversityin1976.

“Everydayyoueatbreakfast,lunchanddinner,”saidNg.“Doyoufeelitdifficult?No,youdon’tfeelitdifficultbecauseit’salreadypartofyourlife.IfIreadsixmagazines[aweek],howmanycanIreadinamonth?Soreading30booksamonthisjustapieceofcake.

Ngaddedthathereadtwomagazinesoveronemealrecently,includingonecalledChinaToday.

Nghasbeenridiculedforclaiminghecouldread30booksamonthandover10booksduringaflightthatlastsover10hours.HemadetheclaimabouthisprolificreadinghabitsduringaninterviewwithlawmakerAnnChiangLai-wan,oftheDemocraticAlliancefortheBettermentandProgressofHongKong.

Meanwhile,NgtoldmediaaftertheeventonThursdaythattheEducationBureauhadrequiredacommitteereviewingthemuch-criticisedTerritory-wideSystemAssessmentexamsforPrimaryThree,PrimarySixandSecondaryThreepupilstosubmitareportbeforetheendofnextmonth.

Hesaidthecommitteewouldmakesuggestionsonwhethertheexamsweretoodifficult,whetheritwasnecessarytoconductthetestseveryyearandwhethertheexamsshouldcoverallpupilsoronsamplingbasis.

TSAwasintroducedin2004totrackpupils’basicknowledgeinChinese,Englishandmathematics.Butithasbeenincreasinglycriticisedforimposingtoomuchpressureonchildrenthroughexcessivehomeworkanddrill.