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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1978
WHITE PAPER BOOSTS EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT TARGETS
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THE GOVERNMENT HAS PREPARED FAR-REACHING PLANS TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF EDUCATION AT ALL LEVELS BEYOND FORM THREE.
THE PROPOSALS ARE OUTLINED IN A WHITE PAPER, ENTITLED +THE DEVELOPMENT OF SENIOR SECONDARY AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, + TABLED IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY.
THE WHITE PAPER, WHICH TAKES INTO ACCOUNT VIEWS EXPRESSED BY EDUCATION GROUPS AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC FOLLOWING THE PUBLICATION LAST NOVEMBER OF A GREEN PAPER ON THE SAME SUBJECT, PROVIDES FOR HIGHER GROWTH RATES THAN THOSE ORIGINALLY ENVISAGED AND INCLUDES ADDITIONAL MEASURES TO RAISE THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION.
IT PROPOSES TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE EVERY ASPECT OF EDUCATION FROM SENIOR SECONDARY FORMS THROUGH TO TECHNICAL INSTITUTES, APPROVED POST-SECONDARY COLLEGES, THE POLYTECHNIC, THE TWO UNIVERSITIES AND ADULT EDUCATION,
SENIOR SECONDARY EDUCATION
SUBSIDISED PLACES IN SENIOR SECONDARY FORMS, TECHNICAL INSTITUTES AND ADULT EDUCATION CENTRES WILL BE EXPANDED TO MEET THE FULL EXTENT OF DEMAND FROM SUITABLE STUDENTS BY THE EARLY 1980S.
THE NUMBER OF SUBSIDISED SCHOOL PLACES FOR FORM 3-LEAVERS, WHICH TOTALLED LESS THAN 21,000 IN THE 1977-78 ACADEMIC YEAR, WILL BE INCREASED TO MORE THAN 57.000 BY SEPTEMBER 1981. THESE EXTRA PLACES WILL PROVIDE FOR ABOUT 60 PER CENT OF THE 15-YEAR-OLD AGE GROUP IN 1981 AND, DUE TO DECLINING NUMBERS IN THAT AGE GROUP, FOR ABOUT 74 PER CENT BY 1986.
THE NUMBER OF FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME PLACES FOR FORM 3-LEAVERS TAKING CRAFT-LEVEL COURSES IN TECHNICAL INSTITUTES AND THE NUMBER OF EVENING PLACES IN SENIOR SECONDARY COURSES PROVIDED AT ADULT EDUCATION CENTRES WILL ALSO BE INCREASED. TAKING ALL FORMS OF PROVISION TOGETHER, SOME 75 PER CENT OF THE AGE-GROUP WILL THUS BE PROVIDED FOR BY 1981 AND SOME 97 PER CENT BY 1986.
THE ADDITIONAL PLACES WILL CALL FOR BUILDING MORE THAN 100 NEW SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND ADDING EXTENSIONS TO SOME EXISTING SCHOOLS. STEPS WILL ALSO BE TAKEN TO BUY SENIOR SECONDARY PLACES IN PRIVATE NON-PROF IT-MAKING SCHOOLS TO ALTER THE CLASS STRUCTURE OF SCHOOLS TO PROVIDE MORE SENIOR SECONDARY PLACES INVOLVING A FULLY SYMMETRICAL STRUCTURE IN CERTAIN SELECTED SCHOOLS TO RUN SENIOR SECONDARY CLASSES IN PRE-VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS- AND TO INTRODUCE SENIOR SECONDARY COURSES IN ADULT EDUCATION CENTRES IN LINE WITH DEMAND. IN ADDITION, A NEW TECHNICAL INSTITUTE WILL BE BUILT AT TUEN MUN BY 1984, BRINGING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF TECHNICAL INSTITUTES TO SIX.
/FLOTATION...............