WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 1984
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TEACHERS CAN NEVER BE REPLACED BY MACHINES : HAYE
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TEACHERS WERE TOLD TODAY BY THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, PR COLVYN HAYE, THAT THEY MUST MASTER AND CONTROL TECHNOLOGY.
HILE HE INTENDED TO ENCOURAGE THE USE OF COMPUTERS
IN SCHOOLS, HE STRESSED THAT TEACHERS COULD NEVER BE REPLACED BY MACHINES.+
MR HAYE WAS SPEAKING AT THE OPENING OF THE MICROCOMPUTERS IN EDUCATION CONFERENCE AT THE FAR EAST FINANCE CENTRE.
THERE HAD BEEN OTHER TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS WHICH SEEMED DESTINED AT THE TIME TO CHANGE THE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM, BUT WHICH IN THE EVENT HAD HAD ONLY AN INDIRECT OR PERIPHERAL INFLUENCE ON THE PROCESS OF TEACHING. AND LEARNING, HE SAID.
MORE SIGNIFICANTLY, MR HAYE ADDED, THE FUNDAMENTAL ROLE OF TEACHERS HAD LARGELY REMAINED UNCHANGED, ALTHOUGH THEY NOW HAD VARIOUS KINDS OF TEACHING AIDS FROM THE CASSETTE RECORDER TO THE OVERHEAD PROJECTOR TO ENLIVEN THEIR LESSONS.
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HOWEVER, HE RECOGNISED THE NEED FOR PUPILS TO BE COMPUTER- LITERATE AND TO HAVE ACCESS TO LEARNING IN COMPUTER-LITERATE SCHOOLS, HE SAID.
AS A STEP ALONG THIS ROAD, THE CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE INTRODUCED +COMPUTER STUDIES IN THE SENIOR SECONDARY CURRICULUM IN 1980, ARGUING THAT ACCEPTANCE OF THIS NEW SUBJECT WAS MORE LIKELY IF IT COULD, BE SEEN TO LEAD TO RECOGNITION IN THE HONG KONG CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION EXAMINATION.
+THIS ASSUMPTION PROVED CORRECT AND OVER 90 SCHOOLS' APPLIED TO JOIN THE FIRST PHASE OF THE, COMPUTER STUD ES PILOT SCHEME WHICH BEGAN IN SEPTEMBER 1982. FUNDS WERE APPROVED TO ADMIT 30 PUBLIC-SECTOR SCHOOLS AND THE ADVISORY INSPECTORATE SET ABOUT MONITORING THE PROGRESS OF THE SCHEME AND STEPPING UP THE PROGRAMME OF IN-SERVICE TRAINING.
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+PUBLISHERS WERE QUICK TO RESPOND TO THIS INITIATIVE AND WITHIN TWO YEARS A NUMBER OF SUITABLE BOOKS WERE AVAILABLE ON THE LOCAL MARKET AND A WEALTH OF RESOURCES LEARNING MATERIAL WAS AVAILABLE FOR SCHOOL USE.
+ENCOURAGED BY THE CLEAR SUCCESS OF THE SCHEME SO FAR AND THE INTEREST GENERATED IN THOSE SCHOOLS NOT DIRECTLY LINKED TO THE FIRST PHASE, ADDITIONAL FUNDS WERE SOUGHT TO EXPAND THE PROJECT TO A FURTHER 75 PUBLIC-SECTOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SEPTEMBER, THE DIRECTOR SAID.
MR HAYE ALSO SAID THAT THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT WOULD SHORTLY BE SETTING UP A SEPARATE SECTION WITHIN THE ADVISORY INSPECTORATE TO STRENGTHEN ADVISORY SERVICES IN COMPUTER STUDIES AND TO PLAN DEVELOPMENTS IN COMPUTER EDUCATION AND MICROELECTRONICS.
THERE WAS A STRONG GROUNDSWELL OF ENTHUSIASM FOR THE USE OF COMPUTERS IN SCHOOLS, PARTICULARLY AMONG TEACHERS, AND IT WAS HIS DEPARTMENT'S AIM TO BUILD ON THIS INTEREST, HE SAID.
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