"The collapse of education is the collapse of a nation," Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Tuesday, borrowing a famous quote from the late South African president Nelson Mandela to underline the importance of education to the SAR.

Lam made the remarks in response to controversy surrounding a question in a mandatory paper in the history section for the Diploma of Secondary Education, an exam for university admissions.

The question asked if exam takers would agree Japan "did more good than harm to China" between 1900 and 1945.

The government's responsibility is not limited to financing education institutions, Lam emphasized.