2026 Policy Document · Curriculum Development Council

Primary & Secondary Digital Education Development Blueprint

A School-Level Reading of the HK Digital Education Blueprint

4 Focus Areas · 10 Strategies · 8-step school-level roadmap

The Primary and Secondary Digital Education Development Blueprint (《中小學數字教育發展藍圖》) was commissioned by the Hong Kong EDB and published in 2026 by the Curriculum Development Council. It sets the policy direction of "AI for all schools" and "AI for all students." This page distils the Blueprint for principals, vice-principals, IT coordinators, and AI leads, and offers a practical school-year implementation roadmap.

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The Blueprint at a glance

What is it? Who published it? When? And why it matters to principals.

Document

Primary & Secondary Digital Education Development Blueprint

Issuer

Commissioned by HK EDB · prepared by the Curriculum Development Council

Year

2026

Governance

Steering Committee on Strategic Development of Digital Education

Vision

"AI for all schools" and "AI for all students" — universal access to digital education and AI across all HK primary and secondary schools.

Guiding principle

"Students as the foundation, teachers as the professional core, schools as the base, society as the partner."

POLICY DIALOGUE

Essai co-founder Renee Ho, as an Honorary Researcher at the HK Future Economy Institute (HKFEI), joined a dialogue with Dr. Jeff Sze, JP, Under Secretary for Education, on the school-level implementation of the Blueprint.

4 Focus Areas · 10 Strategies

The Blueprint is structured around 4 focus areas and 10 strategies.

Focus 1

Cultivating Talent

Start from the curriculum: weave digital literacy and AI into student learning.

Strategy 1
AI Literacy Learning Framework
Define a Primary and Secondary AI Literacy Learning Framework, establishing a city-wide baseline.
Strategy 2
Strengthen STEM education
Roll out the Primary Information and Innovation Technology curriculum framework in the 2026/27 school year.
Strategy 3
AI + Curriculum
Integrate digital education across the K-12 curriculum and issue a Guide to Applying AI in Primary and Secondary Teaching.

Focus 2

Strengthening Teacher Capacity

Make teacher development institutionalised, tiered, and diverse.

Strategy 4
Training requirement
Teachers must complete at least 30 hours of digital-education training within each three-year CPD cycle.
Strategy 5
Tiered, diverse PD
Provide tiered and diverse professional development with no fewer than 50,000 training places per year.

Optimised infrastructure and smart campus development

Focus 3

Infrastructure & Smart Campus

From infrastructure to administration to a shared resource platform.

Strategy 6
Smart campus
Promote smart campus development; apply AI to school administration and management.
Strategy 7
School development & accountability
Use the enhanced School Development and Accountability Framework to drive school-level digital improvement.
Strategy 8
Digital resource platform
Strengthen support services and build a HK-curriculum-aligned digital education learning resource platform.

Focus 4

Cross-sector Collaboration

From home-school to Mainland and international partnerships.

Strategy 9
Home-school collaboration
Promote home-school collaboration so that parents support their children's digital learning.
Strategy 10
Cross-sector partnerships
Convene professional bodies; build exchange and collaboration with Mainland and international counterparts.

For full content of all focus areas and strategies, see the official EDB document. edb.gov.hk

5 Positioning Principles

The Blueprint adopts 5 positioning principles. They can also serve as a self-check when designing a school-based plan.

Bridge between East and West

Leverage Hong Kong's position as a cultural and educational bridge to connect Mainland and international experience.

People-centred, technology as support

"The human mind leads, the computer supports" — technology serves the goal of educating people, not replacing teachers.

Equitable and inclusive

Account for SEN students and socio-economically disadvantaged families; avoid creating new digital divides.

Build on existing strengths

Advance on top of existing mechanisms such as QEF and HKEdCity rather than reinventing the wheel.

Future-forward, anchored in character

While exploring new technology, keep character education and values formation at the core.

Specific Indicators across 4 Levels

The Blueprint sets clear indicators at the school, system, teacher, and student levels.

School

All schools embed Blueprint into school-based plans

All HK primary and secondary schools must embed digital and AI education into their school development plans with a clear implementation timeline.

System

HK-curriculum-aligned resource platform

A digital education learning resource platform aligned with HK's curriculum, serving as shared content infrastructure for the sector.

Teacher

All teachers complete baseline AI training

All teachers complete basic AI literacy and AI-plus-subject training; school leaders complete AI Leadership training.

Student

Full rollout of AI Literacy Framework

Full implementation of the Primary and Secondary AI Literacy Learning Framework, covering all students.

5 Questions Principals Ask Most

The five questions we hear most often when discussing the Blueprint with principals.

When does the Blueprint need to be implemented?

The Blueprint is a policy-direction document, not a single hard deadline. EDB will roll it out progressively through the Curriculum Guides, the three-year CPD cycle, the enhanced School Development and Accountability Framework, and various support schemes. Principals should embed a digital education and AI chapter into their school development plan for the new school year, with a clear multi-year timeline.

What does my school need to do?

At the school level the Blueprint requires every primary and secondary school to embed digital and AI education into its school development plan with a clear timeline. In practice this involves: (1) defining a school-based AI policy; (2) planning teacher training coverage (at least 30 hours per three-year CPD cycle); (3) designing a school-based AI-plus-subject implementation plan; (4) advancing smart campus infrastructure; (5) strengthening home-school engagement and student AI literacy activities.

How is the 30-hour teacher training counted?

The Blueprint requires teachers to complete at least 30 hours of digital education training within each three-year CPD cycle. EDB will provide no fewer than 50,000 tiered and diverse training places each year. At school level we suggest breaking the 30 hours into baseline AI literacy, AI-plus-subject teaching, and applied workshops or peer-observation lessons, with tiering by teacher role and readiness.

How does the AI Literacy Learning Framework affect students?

The Primary and Secondary AI Literacy Learning Framework is an appendix to the Blueprint. It adopts the learning philosophy of "learn-by-using, use-by-learning, learn-and-reflect, reflect-and-create," covering the core elements of student AI literacy. Once rolled out, students will progressively learn AI concepts, applications, ethical reflection, and creative use across primary and secondary levels, integrated into the existing 8 Key Learning Areas and values education.

How does the Blueprint relate to the 智啟學教 HK$500K grant?

智啟學教 (AI in Learning and Teaching, EDB Circular No. 221/2025, up to HK$500,000 per school) is the concrete funding scheme available today. It maps to Blueprint Focus Areas 1 (Cultivating Talent) and 2 (Teacher Capacity). The Blueprint is the broader policy framework, and it notes that the Quality Education Fund (QEF) has reserved dedicated resources to support implementation, with specific schemes to be announced by EDB. Principals can start with 智啟學教 today and prepare a school-based AI roadmap to be ready for upcoming QEF schemes.

8-Step School-Level Roadmap for 2026-27

A practical school-year implementation framework that translates the Blueprint's 4 Focus Areas into actionable steps. This is a reference framework, not an EDB-mandated procedure.

Situation analysis

Assess your school's current digital infrastructure, teacher AI literacy, student usage habits, and how existing QEF / 智啟學教 / school-based resources are being used.

Set a school-based AI policy

Principal, vice-principal, IT coordinator, curriculum coordinator, and panel chairs jointly define a school-based AI policy covering 4 dimensions: student use, teacher use, data compliance, and parent communication.

Teacher training plan

Plan against the 30-hour / 3-year requirement: split into baseline AI literacy, AI-plus-subject teaching, and applied workshops, tiered by role and readiness.

Design school-based KPIs

Set measurable success indicators — teacher coverage, student usage, subject coverage, pre-post learning outcome comparisons.

Pick pilot subjects

Start with willing panels (often Chinese, English, Mathematics) to build a replicable school-based case.

Year-1 mid-cycle review

At mid-year and end-of-year, review KPI attainment, teacher feedback, and student experience; adjust the second-semester focus accordingly.

Year-2 scale-up

Roll the pilot out to other panels; strengthen cross-panel collaboration; launch home-school engagement and student AI literacy activities.

"Educating the whole person" review

Return to the Blueprint's core: beyond technology adoption, evaluate whether students have grown in character, critical thinking, creativity, and responsibility.

How maps to the 4 Focus Areas

Essai has been piloted in 50+ HK primary and secondary schools. Below is a directional mapping between our platform and the Blueprint's 4 Focus Areas.

Focus 1 · Cultivating Talent

Cross-subject AI platform covering Chinese, English, Mathematics, Putonghua, plus self-study content for Humanities, Science, and ICT — useful at school level when operationalising the AI Literacy Learning Framework.

Focus 2 · Teacher Capacity

On-site teacher training, cross-school exchange sessions, a teacher dashboard, and AI-plus-subject demo lessons — useful for accumulating the 30-hour / 3-year CPD requirement.

Focus 3 · Smart Campus Infrastructure

Optional on-premise LLM deployment (data stays on campus), hybrid cloud, teacher dashboards, and learning analytics that contribute to a smart campus.

Focus 4 · Cross-sector Collaboration

Learning insights for parents, cross-school exchanges, and ongoing dialogue with policy think tanks (e.g. HKFEI) — helping schools connect home and the wider professional community.

This mapping is prepared by Essai and does not represent an endorsement by the Blueprint or by EDB.

Companion page

Two funding tracks aligned with the Blueprint

On the implementation side, two funding tracks sit alongside the Blueprint: 智啟學教 HK$500K (EDB Circular No. 221/2025, available today) and the Quality Education Fund (QEF, with reserved resources to support Blueprint implementation; specific schemes pending EDB announcement). The funding page has the fuller breakdown.

Read the full funding guide →

Official sources and downloads

The following three EDB links are the primary official documents around the Blueprint. We recommend that school teams read the full versions.

Plan the new school year around the Blueprint

The Blueprint is a multi-year policy direction, but there is a lot you can start at the school level today. Book a 30-minute Blueprint planning session and we will tailor recommendations to your school's situation, existing resource use, and teacher team size.

Or reach us directly:

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