the method used and the timing.
This area has already received extensive coverage in the media and has been commented on by
those who are enthusiastic about education. I therefore do not
propose to reiterate the pros and cons, except to say that I see 1991 as the latest possible date for phasing out of JSEA and would welcome an earlier date if at all possible. Indeed,
I would welcome a firm commitment by Government that the JSEA will disappear by 1991 at the latest. Furthermore, I hope that the Education Department and the relevant authorities would make every conscious effort to reduce pressure for junior secondary students during the interim period leading up to 1991.
Putonghua
The Commission recommended that more schools should be
encouraged to teach Putonghua either during school hours or as an extra-curricula activity. As I hope to see Putonghua being widely used and universally understood in Hong Kong by the end of the next decade, I feel that the present recommendation is
insufficient to achieve this objective. The majority of
Chinese societies except Hong Kong use Putonghua, and this has
become their common language. Cantonese, though an extremely lifely and expressive language, is nevertheless only a dialect. Our next generation should be equipped to communicate
with Chinese all over the world, and in particular with those
residing in China, hence, to master Putonghua, the common language, is a necessity. Every student going through our school system should have an opportunity of learning
Putonghua. While I note the Commission's concern that there is a real problem in finding more qualified teachers to teach the subject, and their suggestion to overcome this shortage by pre-service and increasing in-service training, I feel that as an interim measure the possibility of using audio-visual methods including videotapes to acquaint students with Putonghua should be explored and pursued. In order to give
every student a fair chance to learn Putonghua, I suggest that there should be Putonghua lessons in every school as part of
the formal curriculum.