Reply:
(b)
Mr President,
(a)
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whether it will consider withholding the amount earmarked for Chinese Mathematics textbooks for the sixth-form under the Scheme until the CDC has completed the revision of the Mathematics syllabus; if not, why not?
Phase IV of the Chinese Textbooks Incentive Award Scheme is recommended by the Chinese Textbooks Committee. One of the criteria adopted by the Committee in selecting subjects for inclusion in the Scheme is that subjects which would undergo syllabus revision in the next two or three years will not be included.
In its deliberations, the Chinese Textbooks Committee noted that the Curriculum Development Council would not make substantial changes. in the immediate future to the syllabuses of the four Sixth Form Mathematics Subjects, namely:
Advanced Level (AL)
Pure Mathematics
Applied Mathematics
Advanced Supplementary Level (ASL)
Applied Mathematics
Mathematics & Statistics
The Committee also noted that there were plans to elaborate on the teaching notes of ASL Mathematics & Statistics Syllabus. for use by teachers by 1998. This would not, however, affect the content of the textbooks concerned.
After consultation with the Curriculum Development Institute of the Education Department and the Hong Kong Examinations Authority, the Committee recommended that three Sixth Form Mathematics Subjects, together with 13 other subjects, for inclusion in the Scheme. This involves awards up to $4.1 million for AL Pure Mathematics, $5.6 million for AL Applied Mathematics (which also covers the content of ASL Applied Mathematics), and $3.3 million for ASL Mathematics and Statistics.