commencement. It is important to recall that the Panel
of Visitors' report, called a "Perspective on Education
in Hong Kong", did not make specific recommendations as
such but referred to their observations as "desirable
- directions" in co-ordinated educational policy
planning. The Education Commission has approached its
specific initial task in the context of the overall
preamble to its terms of reference, that is "to give
consolidated advice on the education system as a whole
in the light of the needs of the community" and in the
light of its specific terms of reference "to
formulate education policy and recommend priorities for
implementation having regard to resources available
and also "to co-ordinate and monitor the planning and
development of education". It is therefore to be
"
understood that the report puts forward co-ordinated
planning in the "desirable directions" indicated by the
Panel of Visitors and with due regard for what is
capable of accomplishment, balancing community needs and
resources; in Dr Ho Kam-fai's words, "recommendations
(which) are practicable and congruent with the social
and economic realities of Hong Kong". If this has
resulted in a report that is "less dramatic" than some
would have hoped or less magnificent than some would
have wished, I for one make no apology, for what was