EDUCATION
School Education
Free and universal basic education is provided for children aged six to 15 to enjoy six years of primary education plus three years of basic secondary education. Admission to Primary 1 in aided and government schools is through a centralised system, and at the end of Primary 6 all students are provided with secondary school places. Most secondary schools offer three-year basic and two-year senior secondary courses leading to the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination as well as a two-year sixth-form matriculation course leading to the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination. All Secondary 3 students who are willing and able to continue with their study are given the opportunity to receive subsidised Secondary 4 education or vocational training. About one-third of Secondary 5 leavers may further their studies in subsidised Secondary 6 and 7 school places.
In September 2003, 418 300 children were enrolled in government and aided primary schools and 411 600 children in government and aided secondary schools. Government and aided school places made up about 90 per cent of the school places. To inject more diversity into the school system and give parents wider choices, the Government in 1999 introduced various measures to facilitate the development of Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) schools and non-profit-making private independent schools. These measures include allocating government-built school premises for operation of DSS schools, and allocating land at a nominal premium with a capital grant for construction of DSS/non-profit-making private independent schools. In September, there were 51 DSS schools, offering 4 per cent of the school places. A total of 10 more non-profit-making private independent schools are scheduled to commence operation in phases by 2007.
Fifty-five international schools and 15 schools operated by the English Schools Foundation were operating in Hong Kong in September. These schools form an important social infrastructure to maintain Hong Kong's status as an international business centre and a vibrant cosmopolitan city. They offer different non-local curricula, namely, American, Australian, British, Canadian, French, German-Swiss, International Baccalaureate, Japanese, Korean and Singaporean, and provide a total of 32 600 places.
Special Education
The Government's main policy objective is to integrate children with special educational needs into the community through coordinated efforts by non- governmental organisations with government support. In the 2003-04 school year, 117 mainstream schools adopted a whole-school approach to supporting about 700 students with special educational needs or with a mild disability. In addition, 62 special schools are operated for those with severe or multiple disabilities, of which 19 provided boarding facilities. Together, they provide 8 500 day places and over 1 000 boarding places. Fifteen special schools are also serving as resource centres providing professional and resource support for ordinary schools which have admitted students with special education needs.
In addition, the Government also provides support services for gifted students to develop their potential. For instance, there are relevant training courses for teachers. and resource packages to support school-based gifted education.
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