WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1988
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HE SAID $30 MILLION WAS BEING PROVIDED THIS YEAR AND THAT HE EXPECTED FURTHER INCREASES TO FOLLOW IN FUTURE YEARS.
THE UPGC HAS ALSO ESTABLISHED A SPECIAL SUBCOMMITTER TO MAKK SURE THAT THESE FUNDS WERE USED IN THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY, MR BRIDGE ADDED.
WHILE NOTING THAT RESEARCH SHOULD NOT DEPEND SOLELY ON THE PUBLIC SECTOR, MR BRIDGE SAID HE WAS CONFIDENT THAT PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT WOULD INCREASE GREATLY IN THE FUTURE.
ON THE QUALITY OF LANGUAGE TEACHING, MR BRIDGE SHARED THE VIEW THAT LEARNING WAS MORE EFFECTIVE IN THE MOTHER TONGUE FOR CHILDREN WHOSE ENGLISH WAS BELOW A CERTAIN THRESHOLD.
"WE ARE MAKING IT EASIER FOR SCHOOLS TO OPT FOR A GREATER USE OF CHINESE IN THE CLASSROOM, BY ENCOURAGING THE PRODUCTION OF BETTER QUALITY TEXTBOOKS IN CHINESE.
"OUR AIM SHOULD BE TO ACHIEVE A TRULY BILINGUAL SOCIETY, WHERE CHINESE IS THE TEACHING LANGUAGE, AT LEAST IN THE LOWER FORMS, FOR THOSE WHO WOULD BENEFIT MOST FROM IT, BUT THE POSITION OF ENGLISH IS MAINTAINED," HE SAID.
"WE SHALL BE
REVIEWING THE PRESENT POSITION IN LANGUAGE то IMPROVE STANDARDS IN BOTH
TEACHING AND LOOKING FOR NEW IDEAS LANGUAGES, HE ADDED.
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MR BRIDGE ALSO NOTED THAT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OPEN LEARNING INSTITUTE (OLI) NEXT YEAR WOULD GREATLY INCREASE BOTH THE QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF EDUCATION.
"AS FAR AS QUANTITY IS CONCERNED, THE OPEN LEARNING INSTITUTE WILL PROVIDE US WITH HIGHER EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR AN ALMOST UNLIMITED NUMER OF STUDENTS.
"AS FOR QUALITY, THE RIGOROUS SYSTEM OF ASSESSMENT BY ATTAINMENT AND THE AGREEMENTS NEGOTIATED BY THE OLI ON ACADEMIC ACCREDITATION WILL ENSURE THAT OLI'S QUALIFICATIONS WILL
BE REGARDED AT LEAST AS HIGHLY AS THOSE OF OUR EXISTING TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS, HE SAID.
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TURNING TO THE ISSUE OF QUANTITY, MR BRIDGE SAID A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT HAS BEEN MADE OVER THE PAST DECADE IN RESPECT OF EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SECTORS.
REFERRING ΤΟ MEMBERS' SUPPORT FOR GOVERNMENT'S PLAN ΤΟ INCREASE PLACES IN THE INSTITUTIONS FUNDED BY THE UNIVERSITY AND POLYTECHNIC GRANTS COMMITTEE, MR BRIDGE SAID HE WAS CONFIDENT THAT ANNUAL GROWTH RATE OF FIVE PER CENT WOULD BE ACHIEVED.
AN
THE GOVERNMENT