WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 1977
8
+TEACHERS HAVE AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE TRAINED IN THE NEW TECHNICAL TEACHERS' COLLEGE TO TEACH IN OUR SCHOOLS THE SUBJECTS OF DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY WHICH IS NEW IN HONG KONG, A GOOD START HAS BEEN MADE AND MORE WILL BE DONE. I SHOULD, HOWEVER, MAKE IT CLEAR THAT AT SCHOOL LEVEL TECHNICAL SUBJECTS ARE TREATED AS PART OF THE GENERAL EDUCATIONAL PROCESS, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR SAID.
GENERALLY SPEAKING IT WAS THE EDUCATOR'S JOB TO PROVIDE A PERSON WHO WAS MORE READILY TRAINABLE AND IT WAS INDUSTRY'S PRIME RESPONSIBILITY TO DO ITS OWN TRAINING.
+ INDUSTRIAL ISTS, HE SAID, +CAN AND DO EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO EMPLOY EDUCATED YOUNG PEOPLE. HAVING SAID THIS, IT IS CLEAR THAT IT IS A NECESSITY IN AN INDUSTRIAL ISING SOCIETY SUCH AS HONG KONG THAT THE GENERAL EDUCATION SYSTEM SHOULD PROVIDE YOUNG PEOPLE WITH A KNOWLEDGE AND AN APPRECIATION OF TECHNICAL SUBJECTS. THIS AWARENESS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF TECHNOLOGY MUST BE SPREAD THROUGHOUT OUR SOCIETY THUS ESTABLISHING A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE WORLD OF EDUCATION AND THE WORLD OF WORK.+
THERE ARE NINE GOVERNMENT AND FOUR AIDED SECONDARY TECHNICAL SCHOOLS WHICH ACCOMMODATE ALTOGETHER ABOUT 7,000 STUDENTS. SEVERAL NEW SCHOOLS ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND A NUMBER OF OTHERS ARE BEING PLANNED.
+APART FROM SECONDARY TECHNICAL SCHOOLS, A LARGE NUMBER OF GRAMMAR-TYPE SECONDARY SCHOOLS OFFER TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL SUBJECTS IN THEIR CURRICULA, THOUGH NOT NECESSARILY UP TO HONG KONG CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION LEVEL,+ MR. KINGWELL SAID.
SECONDARY TECHNICAL SCHOOLS NORMALLY PROVIDE FIVE YEARS OF GENERAL SECONDARY EDUCATION, ALTHOUGH SOME OF THESE SCHOOLS ALSO HAVE SIXTH FORMS.
THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR SAID: +ONE OF THE AIMS OF A SECONDARY TECHNICAL SCHOOL IS TO DEVELOP IN THE STUDENTS AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL AND INDUSTRIAL WORLD IN WHICH WE LIVE. ON COMPLETION OF THE FIVE-YEAR COURSE THE MAJORITY OF STUDENTS COMMENCE THEIR CAREERS IN A WIDE VARIETY OF FIELDS INCLUDING PROFESSIONAL, INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL OCCUPATIONS. SOME ENROL ON FULL-TIME OR PART-TIME COURSES IN A TECHNICAL INSTITUTE OR IN THE POLYTECHNIC, SOME OF THE MORE ABLE STUDENTS GO INTO FORM 6 BEFORE PROCEEDING TO A UNIVERSITY.+
THERE ARE EIGHT PREVOCATIONAL SCHOOLS WITH A TOTAL OF
5,840 PLACES. FIVE OTHER SUCH SCHOOLS ARE EITHER UNDER CONSTRUCTION OR ARE IN THE PLANNING STAGE AND THE TARGET IS TO PROVIDE SOME 10,000 SUCH PLACES BY 1980.
/+PREVOCATIONAL