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Sir, subject to the advice of the Executive
Council on the setting up of the Chinese Language
Foundation which I confirm will be sought very shortly,
I hope a start can be made this year to the preparation
of textbooks and teaching materials written in Chinese
for use by schools as soon as possible.
The Government is not, as has been suggested,
indifferent to the question of the medium of instruction
in secondary schools, nor is it reluctant to provide
direction for the future. Indeed, the opposite is the
case for subject to the outcome of the various research
studies on the effect of different media of instruction
. on students, the Government has accepted various
positive recommendations by the Commission to encourage
secondary schoools to teach their junior students in the
mother tongue. This is a practical and pragmatic
approach, advocated by the Panel of Visitors, and
supported by Mrs Selina Chow and Mr Yeung Po-kwan.
Mr Alex Wu supported the teaching of putonghua
in schools. Mrs Rita Fan suggested that putonghua Lessons should be included in every school as part of
the formal school curriculum. The Government will
certainly encourage this but, in line with traditional
policy of curriculum freedom, will leave the decision to
individual schools. As the Director of Education said in