17
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1992
GOVERNOR:
I THINK FOR TOO LONG, RIGHT ACROSS THE WORLD, PARENTS HAVE BEEN REGARDED WHEN IT'S COME TO THE DISCUSSION OF EDUCATIONAL POLICY AS A SORT OF OPTIONAL EXTRA. I THINK VERY OFTEN THEY'VE BEEN REGARDED AS NOT REALLY HAVING A SAY OR A ROLE IN THE DISCUSSION OF THE CURRICULUM, IN THE DISCUSSION OF EDUCATION QUALITY. SO I DO VERY MUCH WELCOME THE ATTEMPTS WHICH HAVE BEEN MADE IN HONG KONG TO GET PARENTS MORE INVOLVED IN SCHOOLS. I THINK THAT THE EDUCATION COMMISSION, UNDER THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF A RECENT AND VERY DISTINGUISHED MEMBER OF THIS COUNCIL, HAS PUT FORWARD PROPOSALS FOR INVOLVING PARENTS MORE, FOR EXAMPLE, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT THE SCHOOL MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO TAKE THAT SCHOOL MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE FORWARD, I THINK PARENT/TEACHER ASSOCIATIONS HAVE A VALUABLE ROLE TO PLAY. WHAT I THINK PARENTS WANT IS THE ASSURANCE THAT BASIC STANDARDS OF NUMERACY AND LITERACY WON'T BE AFFECTED BY OCCASIONAL EDUCATIONAL FASHIONS. FORTUNATELY, I THINK HONG KONG HAS HAD THE GOOD SENSE TO REPEL BOARDERS WHEN MOST OF THESE EDUCATIONAL FADS HAVE DONE SO MUCH DAMAGE IN SOME OTHER COMMUNITIES AND SOME OTHER COUNTRIES, BUT IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT WE GET THE BASICS RIGHT IN SCHOOL, IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT WE DO ALL THAT WE CAN TO GIVE TEACHERS MORE TIME IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THEY CAN RAISE THE QUALITY OF WHAT THEY DO IN THE CLASSROOM, IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE EVEN BETTER TRAINED TEACHERS AND MORE GRADUATE TEACHERS ON BOTH OF WHICH WE ARE WORKING, AND IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT WE FIND EVERY POSSIBLE WAY OF INVOLVING PARENTS MORE THOROUGHLY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF SCHOOLS AND IN THE DISCUSSION OF WHAT HAPPENS IN SCHOOLS.
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THERE IS ONE ADDITIONAL POINT THAT I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE. I DO THINK THAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO THINK VERY HARD IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THE AND I HOPE THIS WON'T BE REGARDED AS A PREJUDICED OBSERVATION ON MY PART, SPEAKING AS SOMEBODY WHO IS ALAS, ONLY VAGUELY BILINGUAL AND THAT NOT IN CANTONESE I DO THINK WE WILL HAVE TO CONSIDER WHETHER OR NOT STANDARDS OF ENGLISH ARE AS GOOD AS THEY NEED TO BE, GIVEN THE COMMERCIAL AND ECONOMIC PRESSURES THERE WILL BE ON US IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
MR FRED LI WAH-MING: MR GOVERNOR, I WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT PUBLIC ASSISTANCE. IN THE POLICY ADDRESS YOU MENTIONED INCREASING THE BASIC RATE FOR SINGLE PERSON FROM $825 TO $900 SOMETHING PER MONTH, THAT MEANS, A 15% INCREASE. BUT DO YOU KNOW, AFTER THIS ADJUSTMENT, AND WHEN ALL THE OTHER ALLOWANCES ARE COUNTED, THAT FOR EVERY RECIPIENT, DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS THE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE RECEIVED, WHICH WILL BE LESS THAN $2,000 PER MONTH? THAT IS, ON AVERAGE IT WOULD BE ABOUT $1,600 - 1,700 PER MONTH. BUT FOR A PROSPEROUS SOCIETY LIKE HONG KONG WHERE WE HAVE A HIGH LIVING STANDARD, THIS IS INDEED A MOCKERY OF OUR SOCIETY. SO I WONDER WHAT YOU THINK THAT, MR GOVERNOR? AND ALSO, DO YOU THINK IT IS NECESSARY TO OVERALL THE WHOLE CALCULATION FORMULA FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, BECAUSE IF THE BASIC RATE IS SO LOW, EVEN IF THERE IS 20%, 30% INCREASE, IT LAGS FAR BEHIND OUR LIVING STANDARDS. AND IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN OVERHAUL, THEN I DON'T THINK THE SAFETY NET CAN REALLY SERVE THOSE WHO ARE IN NEED. SO I HOPE MR GOVERNOR YOU WOULD TO THIS QUESTION.
RESPOND
/GOVERNOR: IT