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THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 1976
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+WE MUST BE CAREFUL THAT WE ARE NOT MESMERISED BY OUR OWN RHETORIC OR BY PRIDE IN AN ECONOMIC ACHIEVEMENT BASED UPON ONLY ONE NATURAL RESOURCE: PEOPLE,+ HE SAID.
ON TECHNICAL EDUCATION, MR. WU SAID +DOUBT HAS NOW BEEN CAST UPON THE ROLE OF THE PREVOCATIONAL SCHOOLS+, POINTING OUT THAT THE 1974 WHITE PAPER ON SECONDARY EDUCATION HAD SAID THE PREVOCATIONAL CONCEPT WAS NOT NECESSARILY THE MOST APPROPRIATE ANSWER TO THE NEEDS OF HONG KONG,
HE SAID HOWEVER THAT THE ENORMOUS DEMAND FOR PLACES
IN SUCH SCHOOLS COULD NOT BE DENIED.
+UNTIL IT IS CLEAR BEYOND ANY DOUBT THAT WE HAVE, IN BEING, A BETTER ALTERNATIVE WHICH IS DOING THE JOB BETTER WE SHOULD ENCOURAGE THOSE PREVOCATION SCHOOLS WHICH ARE WORKING, HE SAID.
+ IF EVENTUALLY THEY ARE REPLACED BY SOMETHING DEMONSTRABLY BETTER IT WILL BE A NATURAL AND ACCEPTABLE PROCESS.+
HE SUGGESTED THAT THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT'S MEASURES TO MAKE THE FULL USE OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS - FLOTATION AND THE EXTENDED DAY BE APPLIED TO PREVOCATIONAL SCHOOLS, THUS INCREASING THE NUMBER OF PLACES BY 20 PER CENT.
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MR. WU EXPRESSED THE HOPE THAT THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT WOULD NOT ONLY ENCOURAGE SUCH INITIATIVE AND SEE THAT +THE PREVOCATIONAL SCHOOLS GET THE HELP THEY NEED, BUT THAT MORE WILL BE BUILT.
REFERRING TO EDUCATION IN GENERAL, HE WELCOMED THE $1,376 MILLION BUDGET ALLOCATION BUT HOPED THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION WOULD EXPLAIN HOW TO STAFF +THIS MASSIVE PROGRAMME OF EXPANSION IN SECONDARY EDUCATION AND GIVE HIS OBSERVATIONS ON THE QUALITY OF TEACHERS WHO WERE TO TAKE UP THEIR NEW RESPONSIBILITIES.
MR. WU URGED THE GOVERNMENT TO GIVE MORE ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE PROMOTION OF CULTURE IN HONG KONG, WITH +OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL, IRRESPECTIVE OF THE LEVEL OF THE IR FORMAL EDUCATION.+
HE SAID THAT AT PRESENT THERE WERE ONLY +A HANDFUL OF PROJECTS+, OTHER THAN THOSE OF THE URBAN COUNCIL, BY WHICH GOVERNMENT'S INVOLVEMENT COULD BE MEASURED.
MR. WU POINTED OUT THAT THE COUNCIL FOR RECREATION AND SPORT, WHICH TOOK A LONG TIME TO SET UP, WAS NOW PERFORMING A VALUABLE FUNCTION.
HE DID NOT THINK IT UNREASONABLE THEREFORE, TO SUGGEST THAT THE +CO-ORDINATION AND DEPLOYMENT OF OUR RESOURCES FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT AND PROMOTION OF CULTURAL ACTIVITIES IS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO BE MADE THE DIRECT RESPONSIBILITY OF A BRANCH OF THE GOVERNMENT.+
MR. WU WAS PLEASED TO SEE FROM THE ESTIMATES THAT WE ARE REALLY GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW TERRITORIES.+
/+IT IS