EDUCATION
education for non-graduate secondary school teachers of cultural, practical and technical subjects and courses in Putonghua. The HKIEd offered its first degree programme, the four-year full-time Bachelor of Education (Primary), with an initial intake of 110 in the 1998-99 academic year.
All pre-service training courses provided by the HKIEd for primary and secondary school teachers are being progressively upgraded from sub-degree to degree or higher level. The first batch of students will graduate in 2002. Other tertiary institutions also offer degree courses in education. By 2004, all the pre-service training programmes for primary and secondary school teachers will have been upgraded to degree level.
School Management Courses
The Education Department provides basic training in education management and administration for primary/secondary school heads and senior teachers. School-based staff development workshops were organised by the Training Unit to promote the importance of teamwork among teachers.
Hong Kong Teachers' Centre
The Hong Kong Teachers' Centre, set up in 1989 to promote professionalism and a sense of unity among teachers, is supervised by a widely represented advisory management committee. It is staffed by the Education Department. During the year, the centre published newsletters and hosted 700 activities for 50 000 participants. The Hong Kong Teachers' Centre (Kowloon Branch) has been refurbished and began to provide services in December.
Council on Professional Conduct in Education
The council, set up by the Education Department in 1994, is a non-statutory body to advise the Director of Education on promoting professional conduct in education. It draws up operational criteria defining the conduct expected of an educator and advises, where necessary, on cases of disputes or alleged professional misconduct. It has 21 elected members from schools and educational organisations and three members nominated by the Director of Education. It aims to enhance teachers' professionalism.
Vocational Education and Technical Training
A comprehensive system of vocational education and technical training provides the economy with well-trained manpower at craft, technician and higher technician levels. Publicly funded courses are provided by the Vocational Training Council (VTC) (see Vocational Training Council below) at nine campuses of the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) and 22 training centres. Separate levy-funded authorities provide industrial training for the clothing and construction industries.
Vocational Education
Vocational education at higher technician and technician levels was in the past provided by the VTC's two technical colleges and seven technical institutes respectively. From September, VTC has merged the nine institutions into a single education institution, the IVE. Academic departments of the previous technical colleges and technical institutes have also been relocated and consolidated into nine disciplines, namely, Applied Science, Business Administration, Child Care,
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