EDUCATION
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Training. Its role is to advise the Governor on measures necessary to ensure a comprehen- sive system of technical education and industrial training suited to the developing needs of Hong Kong; to set up, develop and operate training schemes for training operatives, craftsmen, technicians and technologists necessary to maintain and improve Hong Kong's industry, commerce and services; and also to establish, operate and maintain technical institutes and industrial training centres.
Under the council are 19 training boards and seven general committees. The training boards cover all major economic sectors: accountancy; automobile repair and servicing; banking; building and civil engineering; clothing; electrical industry; electronics; hotel, catering and tourism; insurance; jewellery; journalism; machine shop and metal working; merchant navy; plastics; printing; shipbuilding and ship repair; textile; transport and physical distribution; and wholesale/retail and import/export trades. The seven general committees, which are concerned with areas of training relevant to more than one sector of the economy, deal with apprenticeship and trade testing, electronic data processing training; management and supervisory training; precision tooling training; technical education; training of technologists; and translation.
The training boards assess the future manpower needs of their respective industries or sectors and recommend measures to meet such needs, prepare job specifications, design training programmes and trade test guidelines and carry out other duties, such as operating and maintaining training centres. During 1987, the training boards carried out manpower surveys in the following 11 sectors: building and civil engineering; clothing; electrical industry; electronic data processing; hotel, catering and tourism; insurance; jewellery; journalism; plastics; textile; and transport and physical distribution. In the same period, the training boards prepared or revised job specifications, training programmes and trade test guidelines for principal jobs in their industries.
The council and its training boards and committees are serviced partly by its own staff and partly by staff of the Technical Education and Industrial Training Department.
Education Department
The Director of Education, supported by the Education Department, is responsible under the terms of the Education Ordinance for general oversight of education in Hong Kong at nursery, kindergarten, primary and secondary levels. He directly controls all government schools, the Colleges of Education, the Hong Kong Technical Teachers' College and the Institute of Language in Education. All other schools, with minor exceptions, are required to register under the ordinance, thus enabling the department to ensure that acceptable standards are maintained.
Schools which receive financial assistance from the government under the codes of aid are in addition subject to the provisions of these codes, which deal with matters like general administration, grants awarded, staffing, and conditions of service. Inspectors of the department pay regular visits to all these schools to ensure that acceptable standards are maintained. Institutions registered under the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance are also supervised by the Director of Education.
In addition to these duties of supervision and control, the department is concerned with provision, through its Advisory Inspectorate, of advice to schools on teaching methods; with curriculum development, and with the provision of educational television and other services. The planning and development of education, the school building programme, the allocation of school places and the conduct of educational research are also important responsibilities of the department.