Organised by the Education Bureau (Applicable to Primary and Secondary Schools)
Year Planner for Mainland Exchange Programmes for Students (2025/26 school year)
Summary
This circular memorandum aims to provide schools with the “Year Planner for Mainland Exchange Programmes (MEPs) for Students” in the 2025/26 school year so as to support schools in planning and proactively encouraging students to participate in MEPs.
Details
Mainland exchange programmes and study tours for students form an important part of national education. In line with our country’s latest development and school curriculum, Education Bureau (EDB) has been organising MEPs with diverse themes and subsidising those organised by schools, with a view to providing primary and secondary students with opportunities for exchanges and study tours on the Mainland. This enables students to gain first-hand experience of the achievements of our country in different aspects from multiple perspectives, consolidate and deepen what they have learnt in class, enhance their understanding of our country, and strengthen their sense of national identity.
Every year, the EDB provides 100 000 exchange quotas, which are sufficient for all students in publicly‑funded schools to participate in at least one subsidised MEP each in their primary and secondary stages. These programmes include the Mainland Exchange Programme for Junior Secondary and Upper Primary Students, the Mainland Exchange Programme for Secondary School Students, the Junior Secondary and Upper Primary School Students Exchange Programme Subsidy Scheme: “Understanding Our Motherland” and the Senior Secondary School Students Exchange Programme Subvention Scheme. Student participation is on a voluntary basis. Schools should proactively arrange students to participate in MEPs and make a backup of relevant information for reference in planning MEPs.
To facilitate schools’ planning of MEPs and study tours that tie in with the content of curriculum, the Year Planner for MEPs for Students (2025/26 school year) (Chinese version only) is provided in the Appendix. Over the years, MEPs organised and subsidised by the EDB have covered 22 provinces, 4 municipalities and 4 autonomous regions, including Guangdong Province, Sichuan Province, Shaanxi Province, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, etc., with such themes as culture, history, economy, geography, sports, music, arts and education. MEPs have been widely recognised and supported. Schools have actively participated and provided positive feedback. Moreover, in line with promoting patriotic education, “red resources” have been heightened in the itineraries of MEPs since 2024/25school year, including visits to historical sites, museums, thematic memorial halls, etc., to enhance students’ understanding of the revolutionary stories and struggles of revolutionary predecessors, thereby nurturing their national spirit.
Starting from the 2024/25 school year, schools will receive the latest information, including itineraries, departure dates and application details of MEPs for students via the “Fast Information Transmission System - School Messaging Module” (SMM). The EDB will continue to issue individual Circular Memoranda on MEPs and adjust relevant arrangements based on actual circumstances. The EDB will update the “Year Planner for MEPs for Students” from time to time. For the latest information on MEPs for students, please visit the “Passing on the Torch” website (https://www.passontorch.org.hk/en/index.html). Schools may also download various reference materials from the website, including useful tips, video clips from participating schools (Chinese version only), and materials shared by teachers and students (Chinese version only).
Enquiries
For enquiries, please contact the Life-wide Learning and Mainland Exchange Section 2 of the EDB on 2892 6594 or 2892 6545.
For further details of the Scheme, please refer to the Education Bureau Circular Memorandum No. 93/2025. (Download)