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Education
Education of Students with Special Educational Needs
Students with more severe or multiple disabilities are referred to special schools for intensive support, subject to the assessment and recommendation of specialists and parents' consent. Others with special educational needs (SEN) will attend ordinary schools. As at September, there were 60 aided special schools, 21 of which had boarding facilities, providing about 9,000 school places and 1,150 boarding places. Some 49,080 students with SEN were studying in public- sector ordinary primary and secondary schools. The government provides these schools with additional resources, professional support and teacher training. The Learning Support Grant, the major additional resource, is adjusted annually according to changes in the composite consumer price index (CPI). Professional officers from the bureau visit these schools regularly to advise on school policies and support measures in implementing integrated education.
In 2018-19, about two-thirds of public-sector ordinary primary and secondary schools are provided with an additional teaching post intended to be an SEN coordinator to support integrated education. A teacher with relevant training is assigned to this post. All public-sector ordinary schools also receive the School-based Educational Psychology Service, under which the ratio of educational psychologists to schools is 1:4 in schools with a large number of students with SEN. Schools have additional resources to employ school-based speech therapists or procure school-based speech therapy services for students with speech and language impairment. As at the beginning of 2018-19, about 42 per cent and 30 per cent of teachers in public-sector primary and secondary schools respectively had completed structured training programmes of 30 hours or more to help them cater for students with SEN.
The Endeavour Merit Award and Endeavour Scholarship recognise excellence in post-secondary students with SEN at publicly funded and self-financing institutions respectively.
Gifted Education
Gifted students receive government support to develop their potential. Professional development programmes, together with learning and teaching resources, are designed to equip teachers with knowledge and skills in gifted education. School networks at both primary and secondary levels are organised to promote professional exchange among schools and teachers. Territory-wide competitions in different disciplines provide a platform for students to demonstrate their areas of strength and widen their horizons. Outstanding students thus identified are given further training and nominated to take part in international competitions.
The government-subvented Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education provides gifted students. with out-of-school learning through courses, competitions, conferences, mentoring, online courses and advanced learning programmes. It also offers professional development to teachers through courses, lectures and outreach activities. Services for parents of gifted children include the Parent Education Programme, outreach, assessment and consultation.
Information Technology in Education
Under the Fourth Strategy on Information Technology in Education, the major measure of setting up Wi-Fi on campus for some 1,000 public-sector and DSS schools was basically
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