XN000022-1986-06-04 — Page 14

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 1986

+PAPERS FOR THIS COUNCIL, DISTRICT BOARDS, THE URBAN AND REGIONAL COUNCILS, AND OTHER ADVISORY BOARDS AND COMMITTEES ARE BILINGUAL AND, WHENEVER NECESSARY, SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETATION IS PROVIDED DURING MEETINGS.

+LEGISLATION OF POPULAR INTEREST IS TRANSLATED INTO CHINESE AND UP TO DATE 110 PIECES OF LEGISLATION HAVE BEEN SO TRANSLATED. A SCHEME IS ALSO UNDERWAY TO PRODUCE AN AUTHENTIC CHINESE VERSION OF ALL NEW BILLS PLACED BEFORE THIS COUNCIL.+

SIR DAVID SAID TO COPE WITH THE ADDITIONAL WORK INVOLVED, THE CHINESE LANGUAGE DIVISION, WHICH WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1972, HAD EXPANDED THREEFOLD TO THE PRESENT ESTABLISHMENT OF 446.

THESE MEASURES HAD, BY AND LARGE, BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN PROMOTING THE WIDER USE OF CHINESE AS AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE.

IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION, SIR DAVID SAID, THE EDUCATION COMMISSION HAD RECOMMENDED THAT INDIVIDUAL SECONDARY SCHOOLS BE ENCOURAGED TO ADOPT CHINESE AS THE MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION.

+IN PURSUIT OF THIS RECOMMENDATION, THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT HAS WRITTEN TO SCHOOLS SUGGESTING A RANGE OF ORGANISATIONAL MODELS WHICH WOULD FACILITATE THE ADOPTION OF CHINESE, EITHER PARTIALLY OR IN FULL, FOR TEACHING PURPOSES.

+ IN-SERVICE WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS AND REFRESHER COURSES FOR TEACHERS ARE ORGANISED TO IMPROVE THE STANDARD OF TEACHING IN CHINESE.

+ ADDITIONAL TEACHING RESOURCES ARE PROVIDED TO SCHOOLS ADOPTING CHINESE AS THE MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION SO AS TO HELP MAINTAIN STANDARDS OF ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGLISH.

+A CHINESE TEXTBOOKS COMMITTEE WAS ALSO ESTABLISHED TO ENSURE THE AVAILABILITY OF GOOD QUALITY TEXTBOOKS IN CHINESE,+ HE SAID.

HE SAID THAT IT WAS TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE THE SUCCESS OF THE MEASURES TO ENCOURAGE THE WIDER ADOPTION OF CHINESE FOR TEACHING PURPOSES, ADDING THAT THIS WAS LIKELY TO BE A GRADUAL AND CUMULATIVE PROCESS.

REFERRING TO CIVIL SERVICE RECRUITMENT, SIR DAVID SAID THAT FOR GRADES WHICH REQUIRED REGULAR USE OF CHINESE A MINIMUM REQUIREMENT OF A KNOWLEDGE OF CHINESE WAS NORMALLY STIPULATED AND, WHERE NECESSARY, A TEST IN THE USE OF CHINESE WAS CONDUCTED.

ON THE TRAINING SIDE, POLICY WAS GEARED TOWARDS MEETING OPERATIONAL NEEDS.

/+TRAINING IN