EDUCATION AT THE CROSSROADS
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Are our present arrangements and development plans for teacher education sufficient to meet the challenges of universal education? In particular, is teacher training making teachers flexible enough to be able to respond to change? Is it enabling teachers to prepare pupils for tomorrow's world, rather than duplicating in the classroom the conditions under which they themselves were taught? Are teachers sufficiently alive to the world of work which their pupils will enter? In this connection should teachers be drawn from a wider net, with credit given for experience outside education?
Language in Education
On language, the basic question which needs to be considered is whether the measures now being put into practice are sufficient by themselves to bring about a rational language situation in school education, and whether they represent a reasonable balance, given the conflicting interests and demands which at present influence schools in the choice of language as the medium of instruction.
Adult and Continuing Education
Is our existing provision for adult and continuing education adequate, given that universal basic education has only recently been achieved and that many adults have therefore not had the opportunity of a full basic education? Set against this fact are the practical constraints on proceeding rapidly on all fronts simultaneously and the consequent need to decide priorities in educational development.
In considering priorities in this area it is perhaps expedient to separate adult education for retrieval, social and recreational purposes from more advanced forms of general education which can be tailored, either directly or indirectly, to suit the convenience of adults. Part-time degree courses would be an obvious example. Is there sufficient oppor- tunity for adults who have completed secondary education to proceed further on a part-time basis, and to what extent should such opportunities be seen as a way of meeting social demand among school leavers who, for whatever reason, are unable to proceed to tertiary education? Should there be an emphasis in the provision of resources at the sub- degree level? Having regard to the need for Hong Kong to diversify its economy and to be capable of responding quickly to changing economic circumstances in its overseas markets, is there sufficient emphasis in continuing education and management training on re-training and refresher training? Is continuing education sufficiently co-ordinated with the needs of commerce and industry?
Tertiary Education, Technical Education and Industrial Training
The overall review took account of the many facets and types of education, examining their inter-relationships, strengths and weaknesses. Now, to complete the picture, we must turn to recent developments in tertiary education and the closely linked provision for post- school technical education and industrial training, against which the future directions of the school system may be more clearly considered.
Tertiary Education
Hong Kong's tertiary education system has been considerably expanded in recent years. Before 1978, the provision of post-secondary or higher education mainly centred upon the two universities, the Hong Kong Polytechnic, the Colleges of Education for the training of teachers, and a number of post-secondary colleges. Since the introduction of the 1978 White Paper on the Development of Senior Secondary and Tertiary Education, much