XN000022-1984-04-07 — Page 11

SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 1984

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HE WAS SPEAKING ABOUT 'DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION AND PARTICIPATION FROM THE EDUCATION SECTOR AT THE WAN CHAI DISTRICT HEADMASTERS' SEMINAR.

ONE WAY TO CULTIVATE A SENSE OF CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY IS FOR THE YOUNGER GENERATION TO LEARN TO SERVE THEIR COMMUNITY AND O ER PEOPLE, THEREBY DEVELOPING A SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY AND S SIAL AWARENESS,

MR LAM ALSO TOUCHED ON THE OTHER WAYS IN WHICH EDUCATION COULD PROMOTE AND DEVELOP DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION.

HE SAID HEADMASTERS AND TEACHERS SHOULD NOT FORGET THEIR RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS IN SHARING IN, AND CONTRIBUTING THEIR IDEAS TO, THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITIES.

+THEREFORE I WOULD EXPECT THEM TO REGISTER THEMSELVES AS VOTERS AND TO CAST THEIR VOTES, HE SAID. +I HOPE THEY WILL ENCOURAGE THEIR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES TO FOLLOW THEIR OWN GOOD EXAMPLES.

+FURTHERMORE, GIVEN THEIR ACQUAINTANCE WITH PARENTS FROM DIFFERENT WALKS OF LIFE, THEIR INTERACTION WITH THE YOUNGER GENERATION AND THEREFORE THEIR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE NEEDS ASPIRATIONS AND DESIRES OF STUDENTS AND PARENTS GENERALLY, THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE EDUCATION SECTOR IS NOT NECESSARILY CONFINED NARROWLY TO EDUCATION MATTERS.

+BEING EQUIPPED WITH CRITICAL AND ANALYTICAL MINDS, HEADMASTERS AND TEACHERS HAVE A FAR MORE IMPORTANT AND BROADER ROLE TO PLAY IN COMMUNITY AND DISTRICT AFFAIRS.+

MR LAM SAID THAT THE SETTING UP OF DISTRICT ORGANISATIONS, SUCH AS THE HEADMASTERS' CONFERENCE, HELPED IN THE PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY AWARENESS AND GREATLY ENHANCED SOCIAL COHESION WITHIN THE DISTRICT.

+ IN ADDITION, THEY INDIVIDUALLY PROVIDE A COLLECTIVE BASE ON WHICH THE DISTRICT OFFICE AND DISTRICT BOARD CAN PROMOTE THE IR ACTIVITIES AND SOLICIT FEEDBACK ON DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION, EITHER GENERALLY OR SPECIFICALLY, HE SAID.

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REFERRING TO THE RECENT PROPOSALS ANNOUNCED BY THE CHIEF SECRETARY TO FURTHER DEVELOP DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION, MR LAM SAID: IF THESE PROPOSALS WERE EVENTUALLY ACCEPTED, THE MORE REPRESENTATIVE STATUS OF THE DISTRICT BOARDS AND THEIR GREATER RESPONSIBILITIES WOULD MAKE THEM BETTER ABLE TO DEAL WITH LOCAL ADMINISTRATION MORE RESPONSIVELY AND EFFECTIVELY.+

TODAY'S SEMINAR, ATTENDED BY HEADMASTERS OF ALL KINDERGARTENS, PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THE DISTRICT, WAS THE FIRST PROGRAMME ORGANISED BY THE WAN CHAI DISTRICT HEADMASTERS' CONFERENCE SINCE ITS FORMATION LAST SEPTEMBER.

THE OTHER GUEST SPEAKER AT THE SEMINAR WAS THE PRINCIPAL OF CNEC CHRISTIAN COLLEGE, MR LAU YAN-TAK, WHO TALKED ON 'SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS AND MORAL ÉDUCATION'.

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