6.2.3. Existing courses that need expanding are those in the fields of building and civil engineering, commercial studies especially business machines and audio typing, electronics and seamanship.
In the latter case, the backlog is so large at the preliminary level that it might be preferable to offer a six-month pre-sea course initially followed by a further course of twelve months for the abler students. New Courses will be required it is expected during the next one or two years in computer programming, statistics and food technology.
6.3. Staffing
6.3.1. A number of courses in the College notably in the Departments of Nautical Studies and Commerce were found to be understaffed and the writer's attention was drawn to the difficulties encountered in deciding on staffing requirements. These are determined unequivocally by the course policy, each year of a full-time course (part-time courses can be reduced to the full-time equivalent) requiring one teacher. Allowance is then made for the fact that different grades of staff may undertake non-teaching duties and that the staffing hierarchy is a pyramidal one.
Thus-
Ratio
Teaching Hours
Head of Department Senior Lecturer
1
8-10
1-2
14-16
Lecturer
3-5
20-22
Assistant Lecturer
6-10
24-26
would be reasonable arrangements but it may be necessary to establish local variants. Once these have been agreed in principle it should then be fairly easy to determine the staff development policy.
Localisation
6.3.2. It is suggested that a conscious 'localisation' training programme be adopted whereby Hong Kong technical teachers are groomed to gradually replace expatriate staff. Well qualified young engineers, applied scientists and other technologists and technicians need to be attracted to the College, given technical teacher training and industrial and teaching experience. Training grades at the lecturer and assistant lecturer levels respectively will be needed for the purpose. Industrial experience can be acquired on a recurring basis during vacations and even by creating supernumerary posts and should be the subject of incremental credits. Local teachers under scrutiny for possible counter- part training should be given some responsibility which can help to determine their suitability for the higher post.
6.3.3. In order to ensure that such young teachers can be retained by the College, and that good expatriate staff can be attracted from abroad over the next few years it is essential to have salary scales and conditions of employment which are competitive with those in industry, the Public Works Department and the Universities. cannot be placed in the same category as a secondary school, however large, A College of Technology as it offers a large amount of near-professional standard work for one thing and provides a welter of quite different courses and subjects for another. Apart from this the staff are required to have both industrial and teaching experience in addition to a basic qualification whereas secondary teachers normally only require the last two. heads of departments have quite complex and searching responsibilities.
The Principal and It is suggested that one of the first duties of the proposed Board of Governors should be to examine this problem in detail.
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