XN000022-1979-04-04 — Page 4

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4,

APRIL 4, 1979.

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AMONG THE SPEAKERS AT THE SEMINAR WAS MR. DAN WATERS ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION (TECHNICAL) WHO SPOKE ON TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE IN TECHNICAL INSTITUTES FOR FORM Ill LEAVERS.

WHEN THE LEE WAI LEE TECHNICAL INSTITUTE BECOMES FULLY OPERATIONAL IN MARCH, 1980, MR. WATERS SAID,

MR. WATERS SAID, ABOUT 12,700 PLACES WOULD BE AVAILABLE IN ALL THE TECHNICAL INSTITUTES ON FIRST YEAR COURSES AT POST FORM 111 LEVEL.

+BY 1984, WHEN THE SIXTH TECHNICAL INSTITUTE IS PLANNED TO OPEN AT TUEN MUN, THIS NUMBER WILL HAVE INCREASED TO 15,000, HE ADDED.

THE MAIN AREAS OF STUDY FOR FORM 111 LEAVERS IN TECHNICAL INSTITUTES ARE CONSTRUCTION, ELECTRICAL, MARINE AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, CLOTHING, TEXTILES, PRINTING, HOTEL-KEEPING, TOURISM AND COMMERCE.

WITH THE OPENING OF THE LEE WAI LEE TECHNICAL INSTITUTE, THERE WILL ALSO BE COURSES IN AERO-NAUTICAL ENGINEERING, DESIGN, HOROLOGY AND OPTICS, MR. WATERS SAID.

FORM || LEAVERS CAN EITHER TAKE UP FULL-TIME STUDY AT THE INSTITUTES, OR THEY CAN ATTEND SANDWICH COURSES, BLOCK RELEASE COURSES, PART-TIME DAY-RELEASE COURSES, EVENING COURSES OR SHORT COURSES.

MR. WATERS SAID THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT PLACED GREAT EMPHASIS ON PART-TIME DAY RELEASE COURSES WHERE A STUDENT COULD RELATE WHAT HE WAS LEARNING IN AN INSTITUTE TO THAT WHICH HE WAS LEARNING ON-THE-JOB IN INDUSTRY.

ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE OPEN TO FORM III LEAVERS WAS TO ATTEND RETRIEVAL COURSES IN THE EVENINGS AT THE MORRISON HILL TECHNICAL INSTITUTE WHERE THEY COULD ATTAIN FORM V LEVEL IN CERTAIN SUBJECTS AND THEN ENTER A TECHNICIAN COURSE IN A TECHNICAL INSTITUTE.

MR. WATERS NOTED THAT IN 1977-78, ABOUT 13 PER CENT OF THE STUDENTS IN TECHNICAL INSTITUTES WERE FEMALE, AND THAT THIS FIGURE HAS RISEN TO ABOUT 20 PER CENT IN THE CURRENT ACADEMIC YEAR.

HE ENCOURAGED MORE GIRLS TO ENTER ALL COURSES IN TECHNICAL INSTITUTES, AND CALLED ON CAREERS MASTERS AND MISTRESSES TO PERSUADE FEMALE STUDENTS TO ENROL IN THESE COURSES.

THERE ARE PLANS TO INTEGRATE FORM | LEAVERS WITH DISABILITIES WHO ARE CAPABLE OF PURSUING A REGULAR COURSE INTO A TECHNICAL INSTITUTE SO THAT THIS WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD THEM TO CRAFTSMEN OR TECHNICIAN STATUS, MR. WATERS SAID.

+THE LEE WAI LEE INSTITUTE, FOR EXAMPLE, IS BEING BUILT WITH THE ENROLMENT OF SUCH DISABLED STUDENTS IN MIND, HE SAID,

SKILLED OR SEMI-SKILLED TRAINING IN SPECIAL TRAINING CENTRES IS BEING CONSIDERED FOR THOSE DISABLED FORM 111 LEAVERS WHO ARE UNABLE TO JOIN TECHNICAL INSTITUTES,

+A NEW SECTION DEALING WITH TECHNICAL EDUCATION FOR THE HANDICAPPED HAS RECENTLY BEEN SET UP WITHIN THE TECHNICAL EDUCATION DIVISION OF THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT,+ MR. WATERS SAID.

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