XN000022-1985-07-12 — Page 18

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JULY 12, 1985

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OTHER MEMBERS OF THE BOARD HAVE ALL BEEN REAPPOINTED. THEY ARE MR PETER WONG (CHAIRMAN), THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION (VICE-CHAIRMAN), MR CHAN YING-LUN, MR CHARLES CHEUNG WA1-BUN, MRS MABLE CHOW, PROF B.L. COOKE, MRS RITA FAN, THE REV JOSEPH FOLEY, MR TIMOTHY HA, MRS PEGGY LAM, MRS ELEANOR LING, MR TAM MAN-KWAN, PROF CHO-YEE TO, AND THE DEPUTY SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER.

THE APPOINTMENT WILL BE FOR A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR, EXPIRING JUNE 30, 1986.

'WIDER USE OF CHINESE PARAMOUNT AND ESSENTIAL'

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AN IMPROVEMENT OF LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY AND A WIDER USE OF CHINESE WERE PARAMOUNT AND ESSENTIAL TO KEEP ABREAST OF THE CHANGING TIME, UNOFFICIAL MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, MR PETER WONG, SAID TODAY (FRIDAY).

ADDRESSING GRADUATES OF THE GRANTHAM, NORTHCOTE AND SIR ROBERT BLACK COLLEGES OF EDUCATION AT A JOINT GRADUATION CEREMONY, MR WONG SAID THE EDUCATION COMMISSION IN ITS DELIBERATIONS WAS VITALLY CONCERNED WITH THE ISSUE OF THE MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN SCHOOLS AS WAS THE HONG KONG COMMUNITY.

FROM AN EDUCATION POINT OF VIEW, MR WONG SAID, AN INADEQUATE COMMAND OF LANGUAGE HAMPERED LEARNING.

+FROM A WIDER ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE, CHINESE IS LIKELY TO ASSUME GREATER SIGNIFICANCE WHILE ENGLISH WILL STILL BE ESSENTIAL AS AN INTERNATIONAL MEANS OF COMMUNICATION IN COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, + MR WONG SAID,

BEING THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND A MEMBER OF THE EDUCATION COMMISSION, MR WONG SAID THE COMMISSION WAS FIRMLY CONVINCED THAT BILINGUALISM WAS ESSENTIAL FOR HONG KONG TO RETAIN ITS POSITION AS A LEADING INTERNATIONAL CENTRE OF FINANCE, TRADE AND INDUSTRY.

NOTING THE TRADITIONAL DISTINCTION THAT ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOLS USED ENGLISH AS THE LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION AND CHINESE MIDDLE SCHOOLS USED CHINESE, MR WONG SAID THIS HAD BECOME BLURRED WITH THE * EXPANSION OF UNIVERSÁL JUNIOR SECONDARY EDUCATION.

+BOTH LANGUAGES ARE IN FACT, BEING USED IN VARYING DEGREES IN BOTH TYPES OF SCHOOLS, HE CONTINUED.

+ IT SEEMS LIKELY TO ME THAT RESEARCH BEING CONDUCTED BY THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT WILL REVEAL THAT CHINESE CHILDREN WILL BENEFI MUCH MORE FROM THE IR EDUCATION IF THEY ARE TAUGHT THROUGH THE MEDIU: OF CHINESE.+

+ HE