EDUCATION
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Primary 6 pupils for the examination. Altogether 64.6 per cent of the 97,930 can- didates who sat for the 1976 examination were allocated a secondary school place. From September 1978, all Primary 6 leavers will be allocated subsidised secondary school places.
The Hong Kong Certificate of Education is primarily intended for pupils who have completed a five-year course of secondary education. The examination is con- ducted by the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Board, which comprises members representing participating secondary schools, the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic and the Education Department.
The Certificate of Education examination and the secondary school entrance examination are processed with the help of the government computer, which also marks such papers in these examinations as are set in multiple-choice format. The computer also allocates secondary school places to pupils who have taken the secondary school entrance examination in accordance with their results and their stated preferences.
The Education Department provides a local secretariat for various examining bodies in Britain and elsewhere and so makes available to students in Hong Kong many overseas examinations, academic and professional, at standards comparable to those in Britain. These examinations include the General Certificate of Education, which is open to both school and private candidates who hold a Certificate of Educa- tion of the required standard. If they have reached the age of 22, no entry qualification is required. Appendix 21 shows the more important overseas examinations held in Hong Kong and the number of candidates entering for them.
In 1975 a decision in principle was made to establish an independent Hong Kong Examinations Authority to be responsible for all major public examinations up to advanced level. During 1976 planning was still in progress but it is expected that the authority will be established in 1977.
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Advisory Inspectorate
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The main function of the Education Department's Advisory Inspectorate is to promote quality in the classroom. This involves frequent visits to schools by special- ist advisory inspectors, the development of advisory services and facilities, and the provision of courses, seminars and workshops for practising teachers. It also involves the evaluation of textbooks and of new and existing courses and instructional mate- rials, educational research and guidance, and curriculum development. Close liaison with other bodies, such as the various local examination authorities, is maintained by the Advisory Inspectorate.
In 1976 the principal concern of the inspectorate was the trial implementation and evaluation of a set of provisional syllabuses for junior secondary forms. More than 260 schools volunteered to implement one or more of the syllabuses on a trial basis. The feedback has been satisfactory and only some minor modifications have been required in a few subjects. To ensure that these teaching syllabuses provide a good