Fundamentally Flawed

I'm convinced more than ever that Hong Kong's education system is fundamentally flawed.

How else do you explain a mother throwing her four-year-old daughter from the seventh floor of a shopping mall (the girl was saved by a third floor safety net) and then jumping to her own death, because the tyke failed to secure a Primary One placement at an English Schools Foundation (ESF) school?

The police haven't determined if this was the motive for the tragedy, but considering the family had been there to eat and discuss the direction of their daughter's education, it's not a big leap to assume there was a disagreement. One toy-seller on the seventh floor claimed her customers told her they overheard a man say: "Throw your daughter downstairs if you dare."

While that sounds unbelievable, remember that this is Hong Kong: people kill others or themselves often for the flimsiest of reasons. If indeed the husband challenged his wife and she snapped, you have to wonder why. Was she unbalanced, or was the loss of face from having a child outside the ESF system that unbearable?

Four year old kids shouldn't be subjected to this much pressure, and their parents need to relax. A lot.

But most of all, the education system needs a massive overhaul to end the overtly competitive, dog-eat-dog mentality it engenders.

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