EDUCATION
mentally handicapped, maladjusted and socially deprived, and for children with learning difficulties. Sixteen schools provide residential places. Apart from teachers, special schools are staffed by specialists such as educational psychologists, therapists and social workers.
Special education classes in ordinary schools cater for partially-sighted or partially- hearing children and children with learning difficulties. Intensive remedial services are provided for children integrated into ordinary classes. These include an advisory service to schools on remedial support available outside school hours, and a peripatetic teaching service during or outside school hours.
In general, special schools and classes follow the ordinary-school curriculum, with adaptations or special syllabuses where appropriate to cater for the varied learning needs of the children. Special attention is given to daily living skills. Special schools also offer a range of extra-curricular activities to enrich the practical life experiences of day and residential pupils.
The Special Education Co-ordinating Committee, with members from relevant departments and schools, has been set up under the Curriculum Development Council to advise on special educational needs.
During the year planning continued in response to recommendations in the Education Commission's Report No. 4 for additional attention to special education for the gifted and for improved services for less able pupils.
International Schools
Several international schools serve expatriate families, whose presence is important in sustaining Hong Kong's role as an international business centre. Schools meeting certain conditions on size, entry policy and non-profit status may receive help from the government in the form of land grants at nominal premium and reimbursement of rates. Some are also supported by their own governments or local national communities.
The demand for places in this sector has grown rapidly in recent years, and the trend is likely to be sustained as the Port and Airport Development Strategy moves ahead. During the year, the United States and Canadian communities responded to an initiative by the government by opening two new primary schools: one, with 220 places, is run by the Hong Kong International School, which offers a US-based curriculum; the other, run by the Canadian International School Foundation, has 240 places, welcomed especially by Hong Kong emigrants returning from Canada. The Singapore community also opened a school, aiming to enrol 600 pupils within the next five years.
The English Schools Foundation (ESF) provides a UK-based curriculum leading to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and GCE A-Level, for children of any nationality with first-language ability in English. It runs nine junior and five secondary schools, and a special education centre for children with learning difficulties. A new secondary school is being built on Hong Kong Island; meanwhile, to meet the heavy demand for places it began operating in temporary premises in September. The ESF receives a grant from the government based on the grants paid to local aided schools. Additional costs are met from parental fees.
Other international schools offer curricula from Germany and Switzerland (the German-Swiss International School) and France (the French International School). The Chinese International School offers a bilingual Mandarin and English curriculum. Some communities, such as the Japanese and the Indonesians, are served by their own schools.
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