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examinations. The tutor/demonstators are expected to ensure that the stocks of regular laboratory materials are maintained and to collect field material where necessary. They may undertake routine analysis of samples under consultancy programmes. They work a 35 hour "office week".
Recurrent expenditure is HK$ 65,550 for this year but capital provision is not budgeted for directly. There is no money for travel.
The library has a wide range of old, new, relevant and irrelevant texts, a small selection of periodicals, and a further limited loan collection of more modern texts. The department makes no use of computing.
HKBC Comment
The whole of the laboratory area is rather poorly designed, and the service facilities are also poor. In many cases equipment for project work has been constructed by students. Members understand that requests for new items of equipment are frequently not met and this leads to a position where no adequate forward planning is possible.
The low level of resource provision has limited the aspirations of the teaching staff, who well realise the need to advance the teaching.
Members consider that at least one competent full-time technician is needed to oversee this area of work. Members feel that the tutor/demonstrators have an enormous task - varied and lengthy
varied and lengthy - which would be relieved by such an appointment.
The number of faculty and their experience is barely adequate for the syllabus of the two-year programme. This small number and the amount of time devoted to the teaching programme means that there is no time readily available for staff to develop themselves - nor is there sufficient provision for travel to conferences and sabbatical leave - all of which leads to an insularity of the teaching staff from their colleagues elsewhere.
Salaries of faculty staff are lower at the Baptist College and this makes it difficult to keep staff, and to maintain continuity.
Library provision is said to be inadequate by the students, both in the number of books available for loan and in reading space. Members feel that the provision of multiple copies together with a more