XN000022-1981-12-04 — Page 8

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1981

SCHOOLS FREE TO CHOOSE MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION

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SECONDARY SCHOOLS ARE FREE TO CHOOSE THEIR MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION, THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, MR COLVYN HAYE, SAID TODAY.

SPEAKING AT THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY SPEECH DAY OF ST STEPHEN'S GIRLS' COLLEGE, MR HAYE SAID THAT THE APPROACH BEING ADOPTED IN

STEPHEN'S WAS JUST WHAT WAS ENVISAGED WHEN THE DECISION WAS MADE IN THE 1974 WHITE PAPER, AND CONFIRMED BY THE 1978 WHITE PAPER, TO LEAVE DECISIONS TO THE INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS.

HE REITERATED THAT IT WAS PART OF THE GOVERNMENT'S POLICY IN EDUCATION THAT OUR YOUNG PEOPLE SHOULD BE ENABLED TO ACHIEVE THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF COMPETENCE IN BOTH CHINESE AND ENGLISH OF WHICH THEY WERE CAPABLE.

+THIS POLICY IS FOUNDED ON A BELIEF IN THE VALUE OF BOTH LANGUAGES TO THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG AND IN THE CENTRAL POSITION THEY HOLD IN THE ALL-ROUND EDUCATION OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE,+ MR HAYE SAID,

HE ADDED THAT IT WAS IN SUPPORT OF THIS +BI-LINGUAL POLICY THAT THE RECENTLY-ANNOUNCED +LANGUAGE PACKAGE WAS DEVISED.

THE PACKAGE IS INTENDED TO IMPROVE THE LEARNING AND THE TEACHING OF BOTH CHINESE AND ENGLISH IN OUR SCHOOLS BY MEANS OF IMPROVED PREPARATION OF THE LANGUAGE TEACHERS, MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR REMEDIAL TEACHING IN THE SCHOOLS, AND THE AVAILABILITY OF MORE AND BETTER TEACHING MATERIALS.

AN INSTITUTE OF LANGUAGE IN EDUCATION WILL BE OPENED AND TWO MORE LANGUAGE TEACHERS PER STANDARD-SIZE SECONDARY SCHOOL PROVIDED FROM SEPTEMBER, 1982. A CHINESE LANGUAGE FOUNDATION IS ALSO BEING PLANNED WHICH IS INTENDED TO BE THE SOURCE OF NEW MATERIAL IN MODERN CHINESE.

+ALL THESE IN ADDITION TO REVISING THE CHINESE AND ENGLISH SYLLABUSES AND DRAFTING A SYLLABUS FOR A NEW SUBJECT AT FORM VI LEVEL - LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION - ARE INTENDED TO STRENGTHEN OUR BASES FOR THE LEARNING OF BOTH LANGUAGES IN OUR SCHOOLS, HE SAID.

MR HAYE AGREED WITH MISS K.E. BARKER, PRINCIPAL OF ST STEPHEN'S, THAT +WE CAN NO LONGER ASSUME THAT THE LEARNING OF ENGLISH IN THE ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOLS IS STRONGLY SUPPORTED BY IMMERSION IN THE LANGUAGE THROUGH THE TEACHING OF OTHER SUBJECTS SOLELY IN IT.+

HE SAID THIS WAS JUST NOT HAPPENING EVEN IN THE MORE +ANGLO- BIASED OF OUR ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOLS.

+WHAT IS HAPPENING IS BI-LINGUAL TEACHING, THE MIXTURE OF CHINESE AND ENGLISH USED DEPENDING VERY MUCH ON THE ACTUAL ABILITIES OF THE PUPILS AND SKILLS OF THE TEACHERS.

/+ D.