18
Wednesday, November 1, 1972
Speaking on primary education, Mr. Wang said the present
bisessional system was here to stay.
He suggested that it might be wiser to "concentrate all our
efforts on exploring ways of improving and supplementing the functions
of existing schools," such as more practical training and extra-curricular
activities.
"Greater effort and encouragement by way of financial assistance
plus the provision of staff would go a long way to help each school to
attain its goal," he said.
Referring to the secondary school entrance examination Mr. Wang
said: "The sooner we can do away with it, the sooner we shall be able to
improve primary education to a really significant extent and make life easier
for all the parents, the pupils and the teachers.
**This alone underlines. the need to provide sufficient places in
post-primary schools for all our primary school leavers."
Mr. Wang said that 184,000 places in Forms 1 to 3 are needed, in
addition to those now available, and more places in the upper forms and other
education institutions are also urgently needed. .
There was no alternative but to extend the bisessional system to
secondary schools and to technical and pre-vocational training.
"It would not be in line with social justice," he said, "for half
of these children to be kept out of school merely for the reason that it
would be better for the other half to have full day sessions. 1
/Mr. Wang