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agreed to increase their services in both camps to two daily four hour sessions. At Cape Collinson the new arrangements will take effect from September. At Hei Ling Chau sessions will initially be increased from two to three hours, rising gradually to four hours next year.
18. To make these improvenients possible, the Hong Kong Government have provided six extra classrooms for the Bowring centre and seven for Chi Ma Wan. At Cape Collinson, demand for classroom space has been eased by a steady reduction in the population of the centre. However, if the need arises, the Hong Kong Government will convert one dormitory building into classrooms.
19. in each of the closed camps, the voluntary agencies also provide kindergarten classes and playschools for the younger children.
Adult Education
20. Adult education concentrates on English language training, which is seen as a prerequisite for obtaining employment in all the main resettlement countries. Classes in other subjects are arranged to meet the demands of the refugees themselves. They are usually based on the subjects taught to children, and include Vietnamese, mathematics, social studies and health education. However, although an interest in education among both adults and children bas been stiaulated by the knowledge that fluency in English and regular attendance at some form of education may help win a resettlement place, the level of participation in education has not always been encouraging: their initial enthusiasin tends to wane quickly, and it is often difficult to persuade them to continue. The Hong Kong Government and the UNHCR nevertheless hope to develop a common education framework for adults which, like that for children, can be introduced in all the closed camps on a co-ordinated basis.
Refugee involvement in teaching
21. Refugees who are academically qualified are recruited by the voluntary agencies or the Correctional Services Department as teachers and teaching assistants. They are of course particularly helpful in the teaching of Vietnamese subjects. They are paid in accordance with rate: prescribed by the Correctional Services Department and are provided with pre-service and in-service teacher training. About seventy refugees are working in this way in the closed camps (14 at Bowing, 20 at Chi Ma Wan, 23 at Hei Ling Chau and 11 at Cape Collinson). The rest of the teachers are provided by the voluntary agencies. All teaching activities are monitored jointly by the Hong Kong Government and the UNICR.
Vocational training
22. Ruelimentary training programmes covering woodwork, tailoring, sewing, knitting and embroidery are currently conducted in all closed camps. In order to prepare refugees for resettlement, the Hong Kong Government and the UNHCR are working with the voluntary agencies to develop a properly co-ordinated vocational training programme geared towards job opportunities in resettlement countries. The Hong Kong Government have asked these countries for their views on the basic skills which would best prepare refugees in the closed camps for resettlement.
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