'One-day school trips to the mainland are too short'
A school principal said on Thursday that one-day trips to the mainland are too short for pupils and longer stays can enrich their learning experience. In the next academic year, there will be a choice of 26 itineraries for the compulsory mainland tours required for the Citizenship and Social Development subject. Most last two to five days, but three are just day trips. Wong Ching-yung, head of Scientia Secondary School, told an RTHK programme that the one-day visits to the mainland are not great for pupils.  "As we know, one-day tours are not that ideal. Even if you are going to the Greater Bay Area, transportation, meals, toilet breaks, getting on and off the car, and roll calls, actually took up most of the time," he said. "At this stage, one-day trips might be kept for another one or two years for schools that do not have much experience in holding mainland study tours to make the transition [to longer trips]." But Wong Kin-ho, who chairs the Hong Kong Education Workers Union, told the same programme that single-day tours provide secondary schools with more flexibility, especially for those near the border.  "Schools in North District could choose one-day tours when they are under a tight schedule... their existence can give schools and teachers more flexibility," he said.