MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 1977
$5.6 MILLION BOOST FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION
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THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION IN HONG KONG IS MOVING FURTHER AHEAD FOLLOWING APPROVAL BY THE FINANCE COMMITTEE OF A NUMBER OF PROPOSALS BY THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION.
+FUNDS APPROVED BY FINANCE COMMITTEE PROVIDE INCENTIVES FOR TEACHERS IN THIS SPECIAL FIELD AND FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE QUALITY OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT SAID TODAY.
IT IS ESTIMATED THAT FOR A FULL FINANCIAL YEAR ABOUT $5.6 MILLION WILL BE REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT THE DECISIONS,
THE SPOKESMAN SAID: IMPROVED MANNING SCALES AND SPECIAL ALLOWANCES FOR HEADS AND TEACHERS HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO PROVIDE DEDICATED AND TRAINED TEACHERS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION CAREERS WITH FINANCIAL ADVANTAGES THAT THEY PREVIOUSLY DID NOT ENJOY.+
TEACHERS IN THE FIELD OF SPECIAL EDUCATION WILL RECEIVE AN ALLOWANCE EQUAL TO ONE INCREMENT OF THEIR SALARY SCALE WHILE IN TRAINING AND THEY WILL RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL INCREMENT ON SUCCESS- FUL COMPLETION OF THE COURSE.
+AS LONG AS THEY CONTINUE TO SERVE IN SPECIAL EDUCATION THEY WILL RECEIVE THIS ALLOWANCE EQUIVALENT TO TWO INCREMENTS OF THE IR SALARY SCALE (ABOUT TEN PER CENT OF THE IR SALARY). HEADS OF LARGER SPECIAL SCHOOLS WILL RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL ALLOWANCE WHICH RANGES FROM $100 TO $900 A MONTH DEPENDING ON THE SIZE AND TYPE OF THE SCHOOL, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.
A SEPARATE PROMOTION STRUCTURE WILL BE PROVIDED FOR TEACHERS OF SPECIAL CLASSES IN ORDER TO RETAIN THEM IN THE FIELD OF SPECIAL EDUCATION. THIS WILL GIVE THEM PROMOTION OPPORTUNITIES COMPARABLE
TO THOSE OF THEIR COLLEAGUES IN ORDINARY SCHOOLS.
CLASS SIZES FOR MULTI-HANDICAPPED AND PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN HAVE BEEN REDUCED TO PERMIT GREATER CARE FOR THESE PUPILS.
THE AVERAGE CLASS GRANT FOR SPECIAL SCHOOLS AND SPECIAL CLASSES HAS BEEN RAISED FROM $1,800 TO $2,100 A YEAR.
+ IN SPECIAL SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF, WHICH REQUIRE SUPPLEMENTARY SPEECH AND LANGUAGE TEACHING TO INDIVIDUAL CHILDREN, ADDITIONAL TEACHERS WILL BE PROVIDED TO ENABLE THE TRAINING TO BE CARRIED OUT MORE EFFECTIVELY, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.
A SEPARATE CODE OF AID FOR SPECIAL SCHOOLS IS BEING FINALISED TO INCLUDE THE FEATURES DESCRIBED AND WILL BE ISSUED TO SCHOOLS BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR,
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