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Plan, with very detailed comprehensive statements covering policy
objectives, forecast of demand, current and approved planning provision,
shortfall (or overprovision), alternative courses of action and finance.
In recent years, however, Programme Plans have not been extensively used
for education policy since development has been by means of green and
white papers.
There are some exceptions: development of special education,
for example, is by means of the Rehabilitation Programme Plan, it being
recognised that the various rehabilitation services provided by the
Education, Medical and Health, Social Welfare and Labour departments must
be co-ordinated by means of a master-plan under central administrative
control.
The Planning and Building Division
4.29
The Planning and Building Division came into being in August
1977 following the merger of the then Administration and Development
divisions, each headed by an Assistant Director. The merger stemmed
from a major reorganisation of the Education Department's directorate,
which sought to redress an imbalance in the distribution of functions
and responsibilities at both the Deputy Director and the Assistant
Director levels. The Planning and Building Division is on the one hand
the "think tank" of the department and on the other hand is charged with
responsibility for the physical implementation of education policies by
providing sufficient school places. The Assistant Director is the chief
planner of the department, responsible (under the direction of SAD(P & D))
for the formulation of strategies for the achievement of new policy
objectives, for the development of new concepts within the education.
system and for the co-ordination of inter-divisional planning efforts.
At the same time he is also responsible for identifying and solving
problems occurring in the implementation of approved policies and for
ensuring that the school system as a whole is sufficiently flexible to
respond to the increasing demands being placed upon it. The Assistant
Director is supported in his role as planner by three separate sections