144
EDUCATION
TV equipment, including colour television receivers and video-cassette recorders, is provided in all government and aided schools and private secondary schools with bought places. In the financial year ending in March 1988, some $2.7 million was spent on the equipment for these schools.
School Library Services
School library services expanded with the employment of more school librarians in secondary schools. In the school year 1987-8, 310 schools were provided with either a full or a half post for a school librarian. The variety of resource materials in secondary school libraries continued to increase. In primary schools, the Class Library Scheme was fully implemented in Primary 1 to 6 classes in all government and aided primary schools. Apart from training courses and workshops, seminars on cross-curricular subjects were also organised to furnish teachers with ways and means of using library resources in support of the school curriculum.
Hong Kong Examinations Authority
The Hong Kong Examinations Authority, an independent statutory body, has adminis- tered the HKCEE since 1978, the Hong Kong Higher Level Examination since 1979, and the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination since 1980. In 1988, a total of 146 245 candidates entered for the HKCEE, 6 426 for the Hong Kong Higher Level Examination and 21 315 for the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination.
The authority also conducts a large number of overseas examinations on behalf of various examining bodies in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. These examinations include the GCE, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry Examinations, and many others which enable students to acquire academic and professional qualifications.
Hong Kong Students in Britain
The Students Division of the Hong Kong Government Office in London is responsible for the welfare of Hong Kong students and nurses in training in the United Kingdom. The division liaised with the Education Department concerning the admission of students from Hong Kong to institutions in the United Kingdom and discussed the problems encountered by on-course students. It also worked closely with the Student Finance Section of the Education and Manpower Branch, Government Secretariat, in administering the United Kingdom-Hong Kong Joint Funding Scheme and the new United Kingdom-Hong Kong Scholarships.
The division also monitored developments in education in the United Kingdom and, in order to promote the interests of Hong Kong students, established and maintained close relations with universities, polytechnics and colleges, British government departments, local education authorities, the British Council, welfare organisations and, in the case of trainee nurses, medical authorities. In addition to advising and assisting individual students, it maintained close contact with the Hong Kong student community through college-based student societies.
Hong Kong Students Overseas
The Overseas Students and Scholarships Section of the Education Department gives advice to students wishing to further their education overseas and supplies information on educational establishments in Britain and other countries.