!
:
-9.
upsurge in juvenile crime lies not in compulsory
secondary education (as claimed by some social
workers) but with the strong academic slant of
the school curriculum.
8.9
In connection with the publicity given to the Governor's
Address and the speeches of the unofficial members one interested group
attributed the rise in juvenile crime to the influence of materialism,
the disintegration of the family system and a decline in the quality of
The group called for improvements in the education system,
the introduction of moral training and an increase in social work in
schools. Another interested group has recently identified five urgent
education.
issues in education
R
namely, the problem of language in education,
juvenile delinquency, the difference in the length of the basic degree
courses of the two universities, the entry qualifications to the new
Medical School of the Chinese University (claimed by some to discriminate
against Chinese middle school students because, for example, English is
to be used as the principal medium), and the difference in the length
of the courses in Anglo-Chinese and Chinese middle schools.
Future prospects: a general overview
8.10
In recent years all major sectors of education have been
examined in some detail and new policies have been formulated and
implemented. The main thrust since 1978 has been in the field of
senior secondary and tertiary education: this will be complemented in
the near future by fresh initiatives in the primary and pre-primary
sectors to be announced in a white paper now in preparation, and the
Committee to Review Post-Secondary and Technical Education is expected
to make its recommendations in a few months' time. Education in Hong
Kong has thus reached a stage where its structure, its characteristic