XN000022-1986-01-26 — Page 9

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, 1986

A SPOKESMAN FOR THE DEPARTMENT SAID A TEACHING SYLLABUS

FOR COMPUTER STUDIES WAS APPROVED BY THE CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE IN 1981 AND IMPLEMENTED IN 30 SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN 1982. A TOTAL OF 210 PUBLIC SECTOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS ARE IMPLEMENTING THE SUBJECT AT THIS STAGE.

THE PRINCIPAL AIM OF THE COMPUTER STUDIES IS TO GIVE STUDENTS A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE MICRO-COMPUTER AND ITS APPLICATION IN THE MODERN WORLD.

IN ADDITION, THE SYLLABUS AIMS TO DEVELOP PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS AND AN AWARENESS OF DATA PROCESSING CONCEPTS WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF PROVIDING STUDENTS WITH A WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF THIS RAPIDLY GROWING FORM OF TECHNOLOGY.

THE COMPUTER STUDIES SYLLABUS IS DESIGNED FOR A TWO-YEAR STUDY AT FORM 4 AND 5 LEVEL WITH A RECOMMENDED TIME-TABLE OF FOUR PERIODS PER WEEK.

THE SYLLABUS ENTAILS THEORETICAL STUDIES AND PRACTICAL WORK. COMPUTER STUDIES HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED BY THE HONG KONG EXAMINATIONS AUTHORITY AS A PRACTICAL SUBJECT. SCHOOLS WISHING TO ENTER CANDIDATES FOR EXAMINATIONS IN COMPUTER STUDIES WILL BE REQUIRED TO SATISFY THE AUTHORITY THAT THE IR STUDENTS HAVE ACCESS TO THE APPROPRIATE FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT.

EACH SELECTED SCHOOL WILL BE PROVIDED WITH 11 MICRO-COMPUTERS WITH KEYBOARDS AND VISUAL DISPLAY UNITS, 12 FLOPPY DISC DRIVES AND TWO PRINTERS WITH INTERFACES. THE FREE EQUIPMENT WILL BE DELIVERED TO SCHOOL IN OCTOBER THIS YEAR.

APART FROM THAT, A GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY OF UP TO $25 000 WILL BE AVAILABLE TO EACH PARTICIPATING SCHOOL FOR FURNISHING AND CONVERTING A ROOM INTO A COMPUTER CLASSROOM, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.

INCREASED DEMAND FOR LIBRARY SERVICES ****

THE DEMAND FOR LIBRARY SERVICES IN THE NON-URBAN AREA IS GROWING ALONG WITH THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF THE REGION IN RECENT YEARS.

LAST YEAR, THE NUMBER OF BOOKS READ IN ALL REGIONAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT'S PÚBLIC LIBRARIES REGISTERED AN INCREASE OF 28 PER CENT, RISING FROM 4.5 MILLION IN 1984 TO 5.8 MILLION IN 1985.

THE NUMBER OF BOOKS ISSUED FOR HOME USE ALSO INCREASED BY 20 PER CENT IN THE SAME PERIOD, FROM 2.6 MILLION TO 3.2 MILLION, SAID A SPOKESMAN FOR THE RSD.

/IN 1985,