XN000022-1977-03-26 — Page 6

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SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 1977

LESS EMPHASIS ON TESTS AND EXAMINATIONS

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SCHOOLS SHOULD PLACE LESS EMPHASIS ON TESTS AND EXAMINATIONS AND INSTEAD SHOULD SATISFY PUPILS' NEEDS BY FINDING OUT THE IR ABILITIES AND DEVELOPING THEM, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION (PROFESSIONAL), MR. HO NGA-MING SAID THIS MORNING WHEN HE DELIVERED THE KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT THE CONFERENCE ON RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN EDUCATION AT THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG.

SPEAKING TO ABOUT 450 PARTICIPANTS, MR. HO SAID SUCH AN ATTITUDE IMPLIED A REDUCTION IN THE QUANTITY OF ORAL TEACHING AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE TEACHER INTO A GUIDE AND FRIEND.

THIS, HE SAID, WAS AN IMPORTANT PRINCIPLE UNDERLYING THE ORGANISATION OF A SECONDARY SCHOOL.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT PRINCIPLE WAS THAT THE SCHOOL MUST REMEMBER THAT EDUCATION WAS AN UNENDING PROCESS.

+SCHOOL LIFE IS MERELY ONE PART OF THE PUPIL'S LIFE AND WHEN HE LEAVES SCHOOL EDUCATION WILL NOT CEASE. THE SCHOOL MUST THEREFORE FIT IN WITH THE BACKGROUND OF THE PUPILS, MUST BEAR IN MIND THE IMPORTANT ECONOMIC FEATURES OF THE COMMUNITY, AND MUST SEE TO IT THAT THE PUPILS DO NOT FEEL CUT OFF FROM THE LIFE OF THE OUTSIDE WORLD WHEN THEY ARE ENGAGED IN SCHOOL ACTIVITIES.

+THE SCHOOL MUST BE MERELY ONE PART OF THE PUPIL'S WORLD, AND THE OUTSIDE WORLD MUST BE VERY MUCH MORE CLOSELY CONNECTED WITH SCHOOL. BUT BEYOND THIS EACH PUPIL MUST BE SENT OUT INTO THE WORLD WITH A SET OF ABIDING INTERESTS, DETERMINED TO CONTINUE THE EDUCATION WHICH HAS BEEN BEGUN AT SCHOOL AND GENUINELY INTERESTED IN AND AWARE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING AROUND HIM, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR SAID.

TURNING TO PRIMARY EDUCATION, MR. HO SAID THAT PART OF THE TEACHERS' TASK WAS TO DISCOVER, AS FAR AS POSSIBLE, WHAT EXPERIENCES THE CHILDREN HAD IN PRE-SCHOOL YEARS AND WHAT WAS THE NATURE OF THE IR EXPERIENCES IN OUT-OF-SCHOOL HOURS.

HE ADDED: THEY WILL SEEK TO PROVIDE WITHIN THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT A WAY OF LIVING THAT WILL SUPPLEMENT THESE EXPERIENCES AND WILL ENSURE FULL DEVELOPMENT OF POTENTIAL CAPACITY, THE ACQUISITION OF SKILL AND KNOWLEDGE THE CHILDREN FIND NECESSARY AT THE STAGE TO WHICH THEY HAVE DEVELOPED, AND SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT AS MEMBERS OF A GROWING COMMUNITY.+

SPEAKING ABOUT THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF TEACHERS, MR. HO POINTED OUT THAT THEY WERE AT THE GRASS-ROOT LEVEL OF THE SYSTEM.

+ IN SPREADING AND EXPERIMENTING WITH NEW IDEAS AND APPROACHES THEY HAVE AN INDISPENSABLE PART TO PLAY IN ORDER TO FULFIL THE PURPOSE OF THE SCHOOL, HE SAID.

THE INITIATIVE