EDUCATION
with China and an understanding of the global community. Emphasis continues to be placed on promoting students' judgment and critical thinking. Since the 1998-99 school year, a new subject of civic education has been introduced at Secondary 1 to 3.
A school-based remedial support programme has been implemented to support secondary schools with a high intake of academically low achievers. These schools are given greater flexibility and additional manpower to provide remedial services for their students. Support services are also provided to secondary schools on matters relating to student discipline.
Special Education
The Government's main policy objective is to integrate children with special educational needs into the community through co-ordinated efforts by non- governmental organisations with government support.
Early identification of special educational needs of children is important. Assessment services identify hearing, speech and learning/behaviour problems among school-age children so that appropriate follow-up action can be taken and remedial treatment given before the problems develop into handicaps.
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 1997, the Education Department implemented a two-year pilot project on integrated education in nine primary and secondary schools to promote a whole school approach to integration. On the basis of the recommendations of the pilot project, the whole- school approach to integration will form the basis of the long-term strategy for the integration of students with special needs. In June, 70 visually-impaired, 720 hearing- impaired, 162 physically handicapped, 615 mentally handicapped and 94 autistic students were integrated into ordinary schools, with the help of support services from the Education Department. There are also 40 primary and secondary schools. adopting the whole-school approach in supporting the integration of children with mild grade mental handicap, autistic disorder with average intelligence, visual impairment, hearing impairment and physical handicap. The Government has set aside $124 million for the promotion of integrated education in the next four years. Special education classes in ordinary schools cater for the visually-impaired, hearing-impaired 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.
In September 2000, there were 62 special schools including a hospital school, schools for children who were visually-impaired, hearing-impaired, physically handicapped, mentally handicapped or with adjustment problems. Of these, 19 provided residential places. Besides being staffed by specially trained teachers, special schools are supported by specialists such as educational psychologists, speech therapists, audiologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, school nurses and social workers.
Special schools and special support systems within mainstream schools generally follow the ordinary school curriculum with adaptations and extensions, where
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