EDUCATION
life, and an exhibition of the winning projects was held in November 1992. 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. The government accepted recommendations in the Education Commission's Report No. 4 to establish a framework for grouping secondary students according to their ability in the two languages. Objective target-related assessments in the two languages were being developed, to help schools and parents decide on the most appropriate medium of instruction for each student. To enable school authorities to prepare for a clear policy on their medium of instruction before the new assessments are available, they were given information from existing assessment instruments on the language abilities of past intake cohorts.
Target-related assessments were also being developed for mathematics. The assessments in English, Chinese and mathematics will eventually supersede the standardised Hong Kong attainment tests, which now help schools to assess the achievement of students at each year level from Primary 1 to Secondary 3.
In government and aided secondary schools, the staffing ratio is 1.3 teachers per class in Secondary 1 to 5 and two teachers per class in the sixth form, with additional teachers to help schools strengthen language teaching; provide remedial teaching, careers guidance, counselling, extra-curricular activities and library services; and offer split class teaching of such subjects as second language, domestic science, woodwork, metalwork, computer studies, art and design and music. The ratio of graduates to non-graduate teachers is about 7:3. The pupil to teacher ratio is about 20:1. The class structure of a standard government or aided secondary school is six classes each in Secondary 1-3, four classes each in Secondary 4-5 and two classes in each sixth form year.
Extra-Curricular Activities
Extra-curricular activities are an integral part of school education. They usually take place outside school hours, in the school premises or elsewhere, under teacher supervision. The department provides professional guidance and advice to teachers through in-service training programmes and school inspections, and also subsidises certain activities. Inter- school programmes and activities organised or co-ordinated by the department include the Community Youth Club, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, the Sister Schools Scheme, the Lions Clubs International Hong Kong Secondary Schools Adoption Scheme, and the Schools Drama Festival.
The Community Youth Club, established in 1977 to help build a strong community spirit among students through organised activities, had a membership of about 120 000 students from 1 064 primary and secondary schools. Up to June 1992, 46 293 members had gained awards under the CYC Merit Award Scheme. In recognition of their outstanding service, 19 primary school members were taken on a tour to Singapore during the summer holiday, and 24 secondary school members visited England.
The department is the largest of the 20 operating authorities of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme in Hong Kong, with 20 370 members from 181 schools. Over 130 training courses and functions at bronze, silver and gold levels were organised during the year.
The Sister Schools Scheme which started in 1981 under the auspices of Lions Club International District 303, matches ordinary and special schools to promote social inter- action and friendship among students. In 1992, 43 special schools and 45 ordinary schools
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