WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 1983
10
+FOR INSTANCE, BY INTRODUCING THE ACTIVITY APPROACH IN GOVERNMENT PRIMARY SCHOOLS, IT HAS BEEN POSSIBLE TO DEMONSTRATE TO OTHERS, THE BENEFIT OF THIS LESS STRUCTURED APPROACH TO PRIMARY EDUCATION, MR TOPLEY SAID.
HE ADDED THAT SINCE 1965, IT HAD BEEN GOVERNMENT POLICY TO EXPAND EDUCATION THROUGH THE AIDED SECTOR, BUT WHERE THIS WAS NOT POSSIBLE, GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS WERE CONSIDERED.
POLYTECHNIC EXPANDING IN QUANTITY AND QUALITY
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DEN
THE HONG KONG POLYTECHNIC HAS OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS ACHIEVED UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH NOT ONLY IN THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS BUT ALSO IN THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION.
THIS WAS STATED BY THE HON S.L. CHEN AT THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY. MR CHEN WAS PRESENTING THE TENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE POLYTECHNIC, COVERING THE ACADEMIC YEAR ENDING IN JULY, 1982.
THE NUMBER OF FULL-TIME STUDENTS EXPANDED NEARLY FIVE TIMES FROM 1 580 IN 1972 TO 7 506 IN 1982, MR CHEN SAID,
THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PART-TIME DAY-RELEASE STUDENTS ALSO INCREASED ABOUT FIVEFOLD DURING THE PERIOD -- FROM 1 030 TO 4 860- WHILE THE NUMBER OF THOSE ATTENDING SHORT FULL-TIME COURSES EXPANDED ALMOST 20 TIMES, FROM 120 TO 2 370.
THE POLYTECHNIC NOW HAS 21 TEACHING DEPARTMENTS, COMPARED WITH ONLY EIGHT IN 1972.
EACH YEAR, POLYTECHNIC GRADUATES WERE BEING OFFERED SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER SALARIES, WITH THE RATE OF INCREASE WELL ABOVE THAT OF INFLATION, MR CHEN SAID.
HE POINTED OUT THAT DESPITE THE RECESSION, THE AVERAGE STARTING SALARY FOR GRADUATES AT ALL LEVELS ACROSS THE POLYTECHNIC THIS YEAR WAS 15 PER CENT HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR'S AVERAGE.
FOR PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA AND HIGHER DIPLOMA GRADUATES, WHO FORM THE LARGEST GROUP, THE AVERAGE STARTING SALARY WAS MORE THAN 18 PER CENT OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S, MR CHEN SAID.
THESE FIGURES CLEARLY SHOWED THAT POLYTECHNIC GRADUATES WERE IN GOOD DEMAND AND THAT THE INSTITUTE HAD ACHIEVED NOT ONLY THE UNPRECEDENTED PLANNED GROWTH IN NUMBERS, BUT ALSO THE GROWTH IN QUALITY.
SPEAKING OF THE POLYTECHNIC DEGREE COURSES WHICH WILL BE INTRODUCED IN OCTOBER THIS YEAR, MR CHEN EXPLAINED THAT THE PROGRAMME, EVEN WHEN FULLY DEVELOPED BY THE EARLY 1990'S, WOULD NOT ACCOUÍT FOR MORE THAN 30 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDENTS.
/+THE REMAINING