Should Secondary students have part-time job?
The parameter defined in the question left ambiguity that needs clarification before answer it. Secondary students covers the age from 12 to 18 years old, and I believe it is of no good purpose to embark on a discussion for 12 years old since it is likely to be against the law. Thus, I take the question to imply to a target of legal working age, that is about 16 years of age or above.
The major concern of a part-time job during secondary schooling is definitely time management. How does one work, at the same time not affecting their academic results? Many parents deny their child part-time job opportunities had based their rationale on such a notion. However, it is of my opinion that teenagers never learnt what is time management if they never need to plan their activities. The exercise allows teenagers to choose between various gains and sacrifices that they will ultimately face in their lives. It is not about the money in their jobs, it is about their attitude towards both their study and their jobs. Parents should not object, but to plan the timetables with their children, guiding them along the way and pointing out their mistake as appropriate.
It is about time to rethink our educational philosphy. Many parents in Hong Kong thinks too highly of academic results and neglects the other vital parts of education. We receive our education to allow us to live our life meaningfully, and most of what we learn in secondary school, especially in higher grades, will not achieve that goal. The Sine or Cosine of an angle is unlikely more useful than how to communicate with your work collegues, but again, parents thinks otherwise and erroreously. Just like in North America, for example, the sophisticated materials are all taught in tertiary schools for these informations are only in need with the respective profession, and secondary schools are places that we learn how to learn, and it is immaterial as to what actually we learn given it fulfilled a certain criteria. Thus, secondary school in Canada or United States are half as time consuming allowing student to work, and to play. This system is workable and is manifested if we look at their Science, Technology, Medicine, Invention, Wealth, you named it, they are amongst the most recognized in the world. North America's success comes not from how every student is a geneius in high school, but a diversity that they had accumulated at teenage, and work experience is one of their key success.
There is every reason to depart the teenager from intensive schooling and knowledge that they very likely not need later in life, and enrolling them into the society as a workforce. The new 3-3-4 system purposed by the government, I hope, may shift the mentality of some parents to see beyond academic results. As the government says, education is not about marks and grades.
Secondary Student should have part-time job on a reasonable basis, and it will benefit one more than one realize.