EDUCATION
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Black. All three colleges offer full-time two-year courses designed to produce non- graduate teachers qualified to teach in primary schools and the lower forms of secondary schools. There are also third-year courses in the three colleges, aimed at raising the standards of teachers and preparing them to teach the new curriculum in junior secondary forms. In addition to various specialist subjects, these general third-year courses cover the whole range of academic subjects. Part-time courses are also provided to train practising teachers. In September 1976 there were 859 students in the two-year courses, 168 students in the third-year courses, 36 qualified teachers undergoing retraining courses, and 1,476 trainees in the in-service training courses.
Technical teacher training is provided at the Hong Kong Technical Teachers' College which is also administered by the Education Department. The college is temporarily housed in government primary school premises, but it makes use of facilities at the Morrison Hill Technical Institute. The college trains technical teachers for the technical institutes, secondary schools and prevocational schools. Several types of course are offered. The one-year full-time course is intended for mature people who are well qualified and experienced in a technical field and decide to take up technical teaching as a career. Generous grants are offered to attract suitable recruits to this course from commerce and industry. The two-year full-time course accepts secondary technical school leavers who have a genuine interest in and a desire to serve technical education.
The college also provides in-service courses of teacher training. The supplemen- tary third-year course prepares graduates of the general two-year course at the colleges of education to teach technical subjects. It gives both fresh graduates and serving teachers a further year of education and training in design and technology. On completion of this course, graduates are able to teach technical subjects up to Certificate of Education level. There is also the government primary school teachers' retraining course, which enables such teachers to take up two-year full-time retraining in design and technology so that they can teach technical subjects in government secondary schools. The industrial trade instructors' courses, offered in part-time day- release, in the evening, and in block release, aim to improve the instructional technique of supervisors and instructors employed by industry.
Associated with the Technical Teachers' College is a developing Technical Teachers' Centre. The centre is to encourage activities which will bring all teachers interested in the teaching of technical subjects together to discuss common problems and exchange ideas.
Adult Education
In providing evening education for out-of-school young people and adults, the adult education section of the Education Department offers both formal and informal education through the Evening Institute, the Evening School of Higher Chinese Studies, and 14 adult education and recreation centres.
The Evening Institute offers seven types of formal course which constitute the whole education ladder for adults-from literacy classes to secondary and post- secondary studies. The adult education courses with general background provide