104
EDUCATION
contemplating this change, and in October the government announced that a Chinese Textbooks Committee would be established to ensure that sufficient good quality Chinese textbooks would become available within the next five years.
Adult Education
The Adult Education Section of the Education Department provides a wide range of courses and recreational activities for adults and young people who no longer attend formal education courses in day schools. These courses and activities are provided by the Evening School of Higher Chinese Studies, the Evening Institute, 17 Adult Education and Recreation Centres, and 47 subvented voluntary organisations.
A credit unit system for the diploma courses, offering studies in Chinese literature, philosophy and sociology to secondary school leavers, is run by the Evening School of Higher Chinese Studies. It may be completed over three to five years by taking 12 basic core units of the diploma course and 18 other units in aspects of Chinese classics and culture. Enrolment was over 4 000 during the year.
The 113 centres of the Evening Institute offer courses ranging from literacy to secondary and post-secondary studies. A general Adult Education Course offering Chinese, English, Mathematics and Social Studies provides education at the primary level to meet the needs and interests of adults. Another Adult Education Course offers practical courses which teach such skills as sewing, knitting, cookery and woodwork. There are also two courses at secondary school level - the Secondary School Course and the Government Secondary School Course for Adults which offer arts and science subjects and prepare students of the English and Chinese sections for the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examina- tion. To improve proficiency in English, a course covering Primary 4 to Form 5 is offered to prepare adult students for the English Language Paper (Syllabus B) of the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination. At the post-secondary level, teachers courses provide additional in-service professional training in a variety of academic and cultural subjects. During the year, some 22 000 persons enrolled in these formal courses.
The 17 Adult Education and Recreation Centres organise many cultural, social and recreational activities designed to stimulate individual awareness within the community, cultivate creative ability and develop individual talents. Microcomputer courses were introduced, attracting some 700 participants. Various activities were organised with other government departments and organisations, such as the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the Consumer Council and the St John Ambulance Brigade. During the year, more than 23 000 persons were enrolled in these non-formal courses.
Adult Education retrieval courses run by voluntary bodies have been subvented on a recurrent basis since the 1982-3 school year. In 1985-6, 137 projects operated by 47 organisations were granted government subsidies.
Advisory Inspectorate
The main function of the Education Department's Advisory Inspectorate is to promote the quality of teaching. This involves frequent visits to schools by subject inspectors to advise on curriculum matters, teaching methods and utilisation of resources, and the provision of in-service training courses, seminars and workshops for teachers. The inspectorate is also responsible for curriculum development, production of educational television programmes, and evaluation of textbooks and instructional materials.
The Curriculum Development Committee (CDC) and its many subject committees continued to advise on curriculum innovation and renewal at pre-primary, primary and