XN000022-1985-11-19 — Page 2

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1985

MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF EDUCATION ****

MEASURES TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION THAT WILL HAVE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS AMOUNTING TO THOUSANDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS WILL BE CONSIDERED BY THE FINANCE COMMITTEE OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TOMORROW (WEDNESDAY).

MEMBERS WILL BE ASKED TO CONSIDER THE RECURRENT AND NON-RECURRENT EXPENDITURE NEEDED TO IMPLEMENT THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS CONTAINED IN REPORT NO. 1 OF THE EDUCATION COMMISSION AND WHICH HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED BY THE GOVERNMENT.

THESE RECOMMENDATIONS FALL INTO FOUR BROAD AREAS, COVERING THE JUNIOR SECONDARY EDUCATION ASSESSMENT SYSTEM, LANGUAGE IN EDUCATION, TEACHER SEPARATION AND THE TEACHING SERVICE, AND EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH.

IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE RECOMMENDATION TO PHASE OUT THE JUNIOR SECONDARY EDUCATION ASSESSMENT SYSTEM IN 1991, AN ADDITIONAL 24 SECONDARY SCHOOLS WILL HAVE TO BE BUILT BETWEEN 1989 AND 1991.

IN ADDITION, THE NUMBER OF ONE-YEAR FULL-TIME BASIC CRAFT PLACES WILL HAVE TO BE INCREASED BY ABOUT 600 TO A TOTAL OF 7 600 BY 1989-90.

AND MORE SENIOR SECONDARY PLACES WILL HAVE TO BE BOUGHT FROM SATISFACTORY PRIVATE INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS, WHILE THE CURRICULUM FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND THE EXAMINATION SYSTEM WILL HAVE TO BE REVIEWED IN PARALLEL WITH THE PROVISION OF MORE SUBSIDISED POST-FORM ||| PLACES.

AS FOR LANGUAGE IN EDUCATION, THE COMMISSION FELT THAT THE QUALITY OF CHINESE LANGUAGE TEACHING IN SEDONDARY SCHOOLS SHOULD BE FURTHER STRENGTHENED BY THE PROVISION OF AN EXTRA GRADUATE TEACHER OF CHINESE IN EVERY SECONDARY SCHOOL WITH 18 CLASSES OR MORE.

THE COMMISSION ALSO RECOMMENDED THAT INDIVIDUAL SECONDARY SCHOOL AUTHORITIES SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED TO ADOPT CHINESE AS THE MEDIUM OF TEACHING.

AND TO COMPENSATE FOR THE CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS OF EXPOSURE TO ENGLISH WHICH MIGHT RESULT IN A FALL IN STANDARDS, THE COMMISSION RECOMMENDED THAT ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, INCLUDING EXTRA ENGLISH TEACHERS SO THAT ENGLISH LESSONS IN FORMS I AND II CAN BE CONDUCTED IN SMALLER CLASSES AND THE PROVISION OF LIBRARY CRANTS TO BUY ENGLISH READING MATERIALS, BE MADE AVAILABLE TO SECONDARY SCHOOLS WHICH USE CHINESE AS THE INSTRUCTING MEDIUM,

AS FOR THE TEACHING SERVICE, THE COMMISSION RECOMMENDED THAT A NEW COLLEGE OF EDUCATION SHOULD BE PROVIDED TO STRENGTHEN BOTH THE QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF TEACHER PREPARATION.

/ON EDUCATIONAL