Visiting Dubrovnik, Croatia, Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin attended the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Governing Board Meeting organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development.

Ms Choi received updates on PISA’s progress, including preparations for the PISA 2025 Innovative Domain Learning in the Digital World, and development of the PISA 2029 Framework for Artificial Intelligence & Media Literacy.

She pointed out that PISA supports the Education Bureau to examine, evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of the education system, and provides education practitioners with analyses on the effectiveness of school-level learning and teaching.

PISA’s cross-cultural and longitudinal comparisons provide scientifically based evaluations of educational outcomes to benchmark Hong Kong students’ performance against the international norm, Ms Choi said, highlighting that Hong Kong students have consistently performed well in PISA.

PISA results have shown that family background and socio-economic status have minimal bearing on Hong Kong students’ performance, reflecting that the city’s education system offers students an equal opportunity to receive quality education, she remarked.

During the meeting, Ms Choi met Croatian Minister of Science, Education & Youth Prof Radovan Fuchs to discuss further strengthening higher education co-operation between Hong Kong and Croatia, and exchange views on the developments of vocational and professional education and training, and universities of applied sciences.

She also told education officials from Kyrgyzstan, Argentina and the Philippines, that students from their countries are welcome to apply for the Belt & Road Scholarships established by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, and study in Hong Kong.

At the Dubrovnik School of Tourism & Hospitality, a vocational training institution for secondary school students, Ms Choi viewed how it enhances students’ skills and expertise in the tourism and hospitality industries through providing work-based learning opportunities.

The education chief will speak at the PISA Conference tomorrow to promote Hong Kong’s education strengths.