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SUNDAY, JANUARY 28, 1979
WARNING ON HOME EXPERIMENT
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LEARNING SCIENCE IS NO LONGER CONFINED EXCLUSIVELY TO THE CLASSROOM AND THE LABORATORY -- MANY YOUNG STUDENTS ARE CARRYING OUT SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS AT HOME.
BECAUSE OF THIS CHANGING TREND THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT IS REMINDING STUDENTS THAT THEY SHOULD NOT PERFORM POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS EXPERIMENTS OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL LABORATORY FOR THE SAKE OF THEIR OWN AS WELL AS PUBLIC SAFETY,
*THE ONLY PROPER PLACE FOR POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS EXPERIMENTS IS THE SCHOOL SCIENCE LABORATORY WITH QUALIFIED SUPERVISORY STAFF IN ATTENDANCE,+ A SPOKESMAN FOR THE DEPARTMENT SAID.
SCIENCE CURRICULA FOR SECONDARY STUDENTS HAVE UNDERGONE MANY CHANGES IN RECENT YEARS AND MUCH GREATER EMPHASIS IS NOW PLACED ON DEVELOPING A SPIRIT OF ENQUIRY AMONG STUDENTS.
+PUPILS ARE ENCOURAGED TO STUDY THE REAL WORLD AROUND THEM AND TO ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE THROUGH SIMPLE EXPERIMENTS FOR THEMSELVES,+ THE SPOKESMAN SAID.
BUT IF STUDENTS ARE TO CARRY OUT SIMPLE EXPERIMENTS ON THEIR OWN OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL THEY SHOULD FIRST ASK THE IR TEACHERS FOR ADVICE, HE ADDED.
THE SPOKESMAN SAID TEACHERS MUST MAKE SURE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS EXPERIMENTS WHICH INVOLVE DANGEROUS CHEMICALS OR WHICH MAY GENERATE VIOLENT REACTION, SHOULD NOT BE PERFORMED BY STUDENTS AT HOME.
HE ALSO NOTED THAT EXPERIMENTS OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL ARE MADE MORE COMMON BECAUSE MANY LABORATORY APPARATUS AND CHEMICALS CAN BE PURCHASED LOCALLY.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF MISHANDLED EXPERIMENTS AT HOME COULD BE DISASTROUS, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.
TWO YOUTHS WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED LAST MONTH IN TWO EXPLOSIONS WHILE CARRYING OUT CHEMICAL EXPERIMENTS AT HOME.
+SUCH YOUNG PEOPLE ARE NOT ONLY DOING HARM TO THEMSELVES. THEY MAY ALSO ENDANGER THE LIVES OF THEIR RELATIVES AND NEIGHBOURS,✦ THE SPOKESMAN SAID.