EDUCATION
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together with the common core curriculum at primary level, provides an integrated course for the nine years of universal education. The senior secondary curriculum, which aims to prepare students for education beyond Secondary 5 as well as the world of work, offers a diverse range of subjects from which schools and students select according to the needs and interests of the individual, school tradition, and the facilities available.
Teaching syllabuses at the secondary level are prepared by the Curriculum Development Council. At the senior secondary and sixth form levels, teaching syllabuses are co- ordinated with examination syllabuses prepared by the HKEA. All syllabuses are kept under constant review and revised as necessary to meet the changing needs of society. During the year, teaching syllabuses for Chinese history, biology, chemistry, religious studies (Christianity) and commerce at the senior secondary level were revised, while new syllabuses for 15 advanced supplementary and two A-Level subjects were produced.
Two important subjects introduced in the past few years are Putonghua and computer studies. During the year Putonghua was offered as an optional subject to junior secondary students in 162 schools. Computer studies as an HKCEE subject is available in 361 schools, and a computer literacy course for junior secondary students is taught in 150 schools.
Civic and moral education are promoted by a cross-curricular approach making use of all learning opportunities provided by the formal and informal curriculum and the ethos of the school. Environmental education is promoted through relevant subjects such as social studies and science in primary schools, and social studies, integrated science, economics and public affairs, geography, biology, physics and chemistry in secondary schools, making use of themes and topics on the environment set out in the syllabuses for these subjects. Extra-curricular activities also contribute to civic, moral and environmental education.
Sex education is integrated into such subjects as health education, social studies, religious/ethical education and biology rather than being treated as a separate subject in the curriculum. This enables students to understand sex as part of overall personal and social well-being, and not as something isolated from other aspects of behaviour. Resource materials on AIDS education have been issued to schools.
The school-based curriculum project scheme, introduced in September 1988, encourages teachers and other education professionals to develop projects to suit the different abilities and needs of students and complement or supplement the centrally-designed curriculum. Participants are given production expenses, and awards are granted on satisfactory completion of the projects. In 1990-91 the scheme involved 43 schools, and 54 projects were completed.
The school library service promotes good reading habits, cultivates the ability to study independently, and supports teaching and learning in schools. All public sector secondary schools may appoint a teacher librarian. The annual Reading Award Scheme for secondary students this year attracted 32 000 participants from 209 schools. A booklet containing the winning book reports was sent to all schools for students' reference. A newsletter for school libraries is published half-yearly.
Chinese and English are both used as mediums of instruction in secondary schools. Some schools use Chinese, some use English, while others use both languages. Long-standing problems relating to the language medium were addressed by the Education Commission in its Report No. 4, which proposed a framework for grouping students according to language ability. The aim is to ensure that all students can learn effectively by having a
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