WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1980
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+IF HONG KONG IS TO MAINTAIN ITS POSITION AS AN INTERNATIONAL CENTRE OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ITS CITIZENS MUST BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY AND IT MUST BE REMEMBERED THAT SUCH COMMUNICATION IS NOT MERELY AMONG OURSELVES, BUT WITH CHINA, AND WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD.
+THE ARGUMENTS ABOUT THE MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN FORMS I TO 1 IN ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOLS WHICH ARE NOW THE MAIN STREAM OF SECONDARY EDUCATION MUST BE REHEARSED FINALLY AND DEFINITIVELY AND A DECISION MUST BE TAKEN,+ DR HUANG URGED.
ON UPPER SECONDARY LEVEL EDUCATION, HE CRITICISED THAT THERE WAS STILL A GOOD DEAL OF +UNTIDINĖSS+ ABOUT THE SYSTEM WHICH LED TO A WASTAGE NOT ONLY OF ECONOMIC RESOURCES BUT OF MANPOWER YEARS.
*AT PRESENT WE HAVE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENTLY TIMED SYSTEMS LEADING TO UNIVERSITY GRADUATION, SYSTEMS WHICH DO NOT MESH PROPERLY WITH EACH OTHER AND LEAD TO WASTED YEARS ON THE PART OF SOME STUDENTS AND CONFUSION AND BEWILDERMENT ON THE PART OF MOST OTHERS.+
HE EXPLAINED THAT THE TWO YEARS OF FORM VI EDUCATION IS THE LAST STAGE OF FORMAL EDUCATION AND MUST BE A COMPLETE, INTEGRATED COURSE IN ITSELF AIMED AT GIVING THE STUDENTS A LIBERAL EDUCATION, A PREPARATION FOR LIFE.
BUT SIXTH FORM EDUCATION IN HONG KONG, HE SAID, IS HAVING TO BE TOO MANY THINGS AT THE SAME TIME
APART FROM
THE LIBERAL EDUCATION IT IS SUPPOSED TO IMPART, IT HAS TO SERVE, TAKEN IN WHOLE OR EVEN IN PART, AS PREPARATION
FOR ENTRY INTO TWO UNIVERSITIES WITH DIFFERENT DURATIONS OF DEGREE COURSES, AND USING TWO DIFFERENT LANGUAGES OF INSTRUCTION.
DR HUANG NOTED THAT SOME STUDENTS, ACCUSTOMED TO THE USE OF ENGLISH AS THE MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN THE ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOLS, COMPLETE THE SIXTH FORM CURRICULUM AND ENTER ONE UNIVERSITY USING THE SAME MEDIUM.
OTHERS, HOWEVER, FROM THE SAME STREAM ATTEND A YEAR OF THEIR SIXTH FORM COURSE IN ENGLISH AND THEN ENTER THE OTHER UNIVERSITY, SWITCHING THEIR MEDIUM OVER TO CHINESE.
YET OTHERS COMPLETE BOTH YEARS OF SIXTH FORM WORK AND THEN FOLLOW FOUR YEARS OF UNIVERSITY EDUCATION, THUS DEFERRING THE IR GRADUATION BY AN UNNECESSARY PERIOD.
+THE PATCHWORK ELEMENT THUS STILL PERSISTS, CAUSING IMMENSE CONFUSION AND CONCERN, AND RESULTING IN A WASTE OF EFFORT AND RESOURCES WHICH HONG KONG CAN ILL AFFORD,+ DR HUANG SAID.
AS REGARDS MIDDLE LEVEL STUDIES, HE WELCOMED THE EMPHASIS GIVEN BY THE GOVERNOR IN HIS OPENING ADDRESS ON THE ROLE OF TECHNICAL INSTITUTES AND PLANS ON THEIR EXPANSION, ESPECIALLY AS THE CHANGING EMPHASIS RESULTING FROM THE DIVERSIFICATION PROGRAMME IN INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE HAD GIVEN US A FRESH PERSPECTIVE IN OUR NEEDS IN TECHNICAL TRAINING.
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