EDUCATION
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The Junior Secondary Education Assessment (JSEA) System allocates suitable Secondary 3 leavers to subsidised Secondary 4 places and to full-time craft courses. Of the 78 790 students who participated this year, 66 291 or 84.1 per cent were allocated places. Of those allocated Secondary 4 places, 83.6 per cent were able to continue studying in their own schools.
There are three main types of secondary school in Hong Kong: grammar schools, technical schools and prevocational schools.
In 1989, there were 382 grammar schools with a total enrolment of 397 602. These offer a five-year secondary course in a broad range of academic, cultural and practical subjects leading to the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE). Most offer, in addition, a two-year sixth form course leading to the Hong Kong Advanced Level examination (HKALE), although a few offer a one-year sixth form leading to the Hong Kong Higher Level examination, or do not have any sixth form.
There were 22 technical schools with a total enrolment of 21 713. These prepare students for the HKCEE with emphasis on technical and commercial subjects. Qualified can- didates can continue their studies in the sixth form or in technical institutes.
There were 21 prevocational schools with a total enrolment of 17 113. These offer an alternative form of secondary education suited to students with an aptitude for practical and technical subjects. They provide a solid foundation of general knowledge and a broad introduction to technical and practical education upon which future vocational training may be based. The curriculum in Secondary 1 to 3 is made up of about 40 per cent technical and practical subjects and 60 per cent general subjects. The technical and practical content is reduced to about 30 per cent in Secondary 4 and 5. Students completing Secondary 3 in a prevocational school may enter approved apprenticeship schemes or continue their studies to Secondary 5 and subsequently take the HKCEE. Qualified candidates can continue their studies in polytechnics or technical institutes. Beginning in 1992, some prevocational schools will provide sixth form classes, to prepare suitable students for technical or other studies in the polytechnics, universities or other tertiary institutions.
In October, the report of a working group on sixth form education was released. The working group, comprising principals from all types of secondary schools, representatives of tertiary institutions and the Hong Kong Examinations Authority (HKEA) and government officials, was set up to advise the Secretary for Education and Manpower on the implementation of the new policy on the sixth form which was announced in 1988. Major changes were recommended to take effect in 1992: the abolition of the Higher Level examination, the introduction of Advanced Level subjects in the medium of Chinese, the adoption of a uniform two-year sixth form course in all types of secondary school and the introduction of new courses leading to an Advanced Supplementary examination. By year's end planning for the changes was well under way.
Special Education
Special education continued to develop in line with the objectives of the White Paper on Rehabilitation published in 1977 and the subsequent annual reviews of the Rehabilitation Programme Plan. Altogether, 14 928 special places for handicapped children were provided in 1989.
There were 71 special schools providing 9 023 places for the more severely handicapped. These schools provided special education for the blind, the deaf, the physically handi- capped, the mentally handicapped, the maladjusted and socially deprived and those with