EDUCATION
tasks are to equip teachers with the necessary IT skills; to apply computer-assisted teaching and learning across the curriculum; and to place students in an environment where they can use this technology as part of their daily activities and grow up to use it creatively. The aim is to have teaching and learning in at least 25 per cent of the curriculum supported through IT and to see it applied comprehensively in school life within five years and for all teachers and Secondary 5 graduates to achieve competence with IT tools within 10 years.
The 1997 Policy Address announced a series of measures, to be introduced in 1998, to effect immediate enhancement in IT in education. These include:
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enhancing provision of computer facilities in primary and secondary schools to 40 and 82 on average, respectively;
procuring and developing new software to support teaching and learning;
enhancing IT training for teachers, and providing professional and technical support to schools;
introducing pilot schemes in 20 schools to establish best practices for IT applications in teaching and learning; and
intranet for
multi-dimensional
preparing for an education-specific communication and sharing of information within the school sector.
Special Education
The main policy objective of special education is to integrate the disabled into the community through co-ordinated efforts by the government and non-governmental organisations.
Early identification is an important prevention measure. Screening and assessment services identify special educational needs among school-age children so that appropriate follow-up and remedial treatment can be given before problems develop into handicaps. Under the combined screening programme, all Primary 1 students are given hearing and eyesight tests. Checklists and guides help teachers to detect children with speech problems and learning difficulties. Children requiring further assessments are given audiological, speech, psychological or educational assessments at special education services centres or at schools. Some are referred for ophthalmic advice.
Children with special educational needs are integrated into ordinary schools as far as possible. They are placed in special schools only when their handicaps are such that they cannot benefit from the ordinary school programmes. In June 1997, there were 67 visually-impaired, 647 hearing-impaired, 136 physically handicapped and 333 mentally handicapped students integrated into normal schools, with the help of supportive services from the Education Department.
Special education classes in ordinary schools cater for partially sighted, partially hearing children and children with learning difficulties. Services for children integrated into ordinary classes include school-based or centre-based intensive remedial support in the basic subjects, behavioural guidance to children and advice to teachers on how to help children with special needs.
A school-based remedial support programme and a school-based psychological service were also implemented to support secondary schools with a high intake of
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