The rapid advancement of modern technology, coupled with the fast development of the Internet, has not only transformed the way in which information is disseminated, but also brought about tremendous changes to mathematics education. 

For instance, while basic understanding of number, measurement and data handling will always be a necessary foundation, the need for drilling computation skills has fallen significantly due to the availability of calculators and the emergence of computer algebra systems in recent years.

Technology changes

With the help of information technology, many learning topics and meaningless drilling have become obsolete. Mathematics education is no longer confined to the rote learning of formulae, principles and algorithms.

In light of societal changes, secondary students should not only possess foundation mathematical skills and concepts. More importantly, they should build up confidence in learning mathematics and be well-trained in logical deduction, abstract thinking, analysis and problem solving, and communication through symbols and graphs. 

They should also cultivate in themselves a spirit of perseverance in finding solutions and a habit of independent rational thinking.

This is why mathematics is included as one of the core subjects to be taken by all students under the New Senior Secondary academic structure. The curriculum emphasises mathematical exploration, research and application.

The curriculum design is recognised and highly regarded by many curriculum institutions which have benchmarked our development against senior mathematics education abroad, including the Cambridge Assessment, the International Baccalaureate Organisation, and the Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development. 

Mathematics educators in Hong Kong from universities and schools have been fully engaged in the development process.

To cater for the diversified aptitudes, interests and abilities of students, more flexibility is given in the NSS mathematics curriculum framework.  The new curriculum includes a compulsory part which provides all students with essential mathematical knowledge to solve problems in real life as well as in mathematical contexts.

There is also an extended part consisting of two modules which are designed for students who may need more mathematical knowledge for their future studies and careers.

Students will be separately assessed in the public examinations in the compulsory part and the extended part and the results will be separately reported for the reference of different users.

Hong Kong students' mathematical ability is among the best in the world, as evidenced by the excellent results achieved in international student assessment programmes.

However, some teachers worry that the students' standard would be adversely affected as there is only a single mathematics curriculum under the NSS academic structure.  To answer this question, we must analyse the issue in terms of both quantity and quality.

Quantity-wise, few Secondary 5 graduates continue to study mathematics in Secondary 6 under the current system. A case in point is that only one-sixth of the matriculation students proceeded to study AS-level or A-level mathematics subjects in 2005.

On the contrary, all students will study mathematics for six years and may acquire a good foundation of the subject under the new academic structure.

With regard to subject content, the compulsory part of the NSS mathematics curriculum has a wider coverage than the prevailing HKCEE syllabus.

Apart from the addition of the important and practical topic of "Permutation & Combination", other topics such as "Complex Numbers" are also included.

For the extended part, the consultation on the NSS curriculum has revealed that nearly 90% of the schools will offer the two modules. The recently announced entry requirements of universities also specify that applicants must have taken these modules for admission to certain faculties.

Therefore, under the NSS academic structure, there will be more students doing post-secondary five mathematics education than now.  In other words, the new curriculum will help to achieve the ideal of improving students' overall standard of mathematics.

Quality-wise, the success of the curriculum will depend on the adoption of the right approach and appropriate teaching and assessment methods. It will be undesirable if teachers just cram their students with the entire curriculum without effective teaching, and students just learn by rote without thorough understanding or, worse still, assessment is based on rote-based questions.

The NSS curriculum attaches greater importance to deep understanding when compared with the present one. It aims to develop students' abilities to construct knowledge, reason independently and analyse and solve problems by way of diversified exploration and research activities.

This approach will be more conducive to students' future development and support further learning across all fields of knowledge.

Furthermore, the NSS mathematics curriculum is designed not only for students who wish to pursue further studies at universities but is directly relevant to the learning for all students preparing for their future career and development. 

Different departments of universities vary in their requirements on the mathematical ability of students.

Under the three-year senior secondary and four-year undergraduate academic structure, tertiary institutions have one more year's time to better equip their students for the future through offering different mathematics courses directly relevant to the learning of different departments. 

Thus, there will be closer and more flexible integration between secondary and university curricula under the new system.

Permanent Secretary for Education & Manpower Fanny Law wrote this column as one of a series on "Realising the vision of 334".