WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 194
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MRS. SYMONS SAID THAT. IN ANY CASE, A PRINCIPAL COULD NOT COMPARE HIS STUDENTS WITH THOSE IN OTHER-SCHOOLS.
WHERE IMPERSONAL ASSESSMENT WAS REQUIRED TO DETERMINE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, SHE ADDED, THERE WAS STILL ROOM IN THE MODERN WORLD FOR EXAMINATIONS. +SUCH ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION OF A STUDENT AS A MEMBER OF THE LIVING SOCIETY OF A SCHOOL, OVER A LONG PERIOD MADE BY TEACHERS KNOWN TO AND BY THE STUDENT SHOULD BE A VALUABLE COMPLEMENT TO THE JUNIOR CERTIFICATE, BUT IT CANNOT BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR IT.
REFERRING TO THE PRESENT CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION EXAMINATION, SHE SAID IT WAS FIRMLY. ANCHORED TO RECOGNITION BY OVERSEAS EXAMINATION AUTHORITIES, TO ENTRY TO GOVERNMENT POSTS AND TERTIARY COURSES OUTSIDE SCHOOLS AND TO EMPLOYMENT IN THE CITY.
+IT TOOK SOME OF US YEARS TO FIGHT FOR THIS RECOGNITION." AGAIN, TWO YEARS LATER THE ADVANCED LEVEL EXAMINATION OF THE UNIVEŘITY OF HONG KONG IS INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED, SHE SAID.
TO TAMPER WITH EITHER OF THESE WELL-DESIGNED EXAMINATIONS FOR FISCAL OR OTHER REASONS, SHE STRESSED, WOULD NOT BE IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE STUDENTS OR SOCIETY.
+THE NEW JUNIOR CERTIFICATE WILL COMPLETE THE TRILOGY- AND NEED NOT IN ITSELF STIFLE THE EDUCATION OFFERED AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL. ITS COUNTERPART CAN BE FOUND IN COUNTRIES LIKE JAPAN AND TAIWAN IN OUR AREA, FURTHER SOUTH IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND, AND IN SEVERAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES.+ SHE SAID.
ON LABOUR, MRS. SYMONS AGREED THAT ALTHOUGH MORE LEGISLATION WOULD BE ENACTED FOR THE PROTECTION AND BENEFIT OF THE WORKING MAN, THE PROVISION FOR THEM WAS STILL MINIMAL OR EVEN NON-EXISTENT, WHEN COMPARED WITH SOCIALISED COUNTRIES.
HOWEVER, SHE SAID HONG KONG WAS DIFFERENT FOR MANY REASONS AND IT NEED NOT EVER BE ASHAMED OF ITS ACHIEVEMENTS IN HUMAN, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC TERMS.
MRS. SYMONS, WHO SOME MONTHS AGO ATTENDED A COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE IN LONDON, SAID SHE FOUND OUT THAT HONG KONG ENJOYED MORE FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND ACTION THAN MANY OF THE COUNTRIES REPRESENTED.
+THE POLITICAL IRONY TO OUR COMMONWEALTH COLLEAGUES PRESENT WAS THAT THEY HAVE ALL THE TRAPPINGS OF DEMOCRACY, OFTEN WITHOUT ANY REAL FREEDOM FOR THE INDIVIDUAL, SHE SAID.
EARLIER IN HER SPEECH, MRS. SYMONS SAID THAT THE QUIET AND REALISTIC CONFIDENCE THE GOVERNOR HAD SHOWN IN HIS CAREFUL STOCK-TAKING HAD ENCOURAGED MANY IN HONG KONG TO TAKE FRESH HEART AT A DIFFICULT TIME BOTH HERE AND ABROAD.
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