Hong Kong children from the age of six, besides learning math, English, and other school subjects, are starting to learn coding as well. In Hong Kong computer skills classes are part of the schools’ syllabuses but nowadays programming is gaining a lot of popularity too. Very often parents make sure that their kids take coding classes after school in private learning centers hopping that by learning programming, their kids will be more advanced and prepared in the future and keep up with technology more easily compared to other children who are not familiar with coding.
According to BBC, a private learning centre in Hong Kong called First Code Academy, offers coding classes for children and teaches them ‘how to create characters for a simple mobile game, using drag and drop software’. “This way, the kids don't have to type as much. It's much more intuitive for them to learn the concepts and build a foundation,” said First Code Academy founder Michelle Sun. Her experience in Silicon Valley taught her that people that have programming skills have plenty of job opportunities compared to those who cannot code and that is how she decided to found the academy. Sun said that in the future First Code Academy will start offering JavaScript courses.
Private coding classes cost between $775 to $1,300 per 12-week term, which for most families in Hong Kong, is quite expensive as the average income per month is around $3,000. That is why the government is trying to include coding class into the schools’ syllabuses for children as young as 11 years old. “What we want to do is to incorporate coding as a mandatory part of early secondary education so as to equip students for the future digital world,” said Hong Kong's deputy government CIO Joey Lam.
According to BBC, “Hong Kong is already one of the world's most wired cities. According to government figures, 85% of homes have access to broadband, and people own, on average, at least two mobile phones.” But even though the city has been keeping up with technology, its education system hasn’t. It is true that computer literacy is taught in almost every school, but the attention that programming classes receive is not very high, which is another issue the government is working on.
Various countries all over the world are also taking the ‘hint’ and realizing the great importance of teaching kids programming at an early age. England for example, included computer programming classes in primary and secondary schools last September. Children in Britain start learning how to code from the age of five until they finish their GCSEs around the age of 16. “Other countries in the Asia Pacific region, including Australia and Singapore, are also working out when and how to start compulsory education in computer programming,” according to BBC.
( Picture Source: coding101.hk )