XN000022-1987-01-21 — Page 19

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 1987

HOWEVER, TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS ALL HAD THEIR OWN ACADEMIC PRIDE AND MIGHT NOT CO-OPERATE EASILY WITH ONE ANOTHER. THEREFORE, THE CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE ORGAN OF THE CONSORTIUM MUST BE REINFORCED TO EXERCISE AN EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP, HE SAID.

+ IF THE OPERATION OF OPEN EDUCATION COULD RUN SMOOTHLY AND DEVELOP RAPIDLY, WE SHOULD NOT EXCLUDE THE POSSIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING AN INDEPENDENT INSTITUTION, HE SAID.

MR LEE NOTED THAT MANY OVERSEAS INSTITUTIONS WERE FAR MORE ADVANCED THAN THOSE OF HONG KONG IN THE PROMOTION OF OPEN EDUCATION. +WE SHOULD THEREFORE ADOPT A LIBERAL ATTITUDE TOWARD OVERSEAS INSTITUTIONS WHICH INTEND TO OFFER DISTANCE LEARNING COURSES IN HONG KONG, HE ADDED.

HE SAID THE CONSORTIUM ON OPEN EDUCATION SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, WITH THE FIRST BATCH OF STUDENTS SCHEDULED FOR ADMISSION ONE OR TWO YEARS BEFORE 1990, SO AS TO FIT IN WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF CABLE TELEVISION AND PROVIDE SECOND OPPORTUNITIES FOR TERTIARY EDUCATION.

HE SUGGESTED THAT AS FAR AS POSSIBLE, NO DISTINCTION INTO ARTS AND SCIENCE CLASSES SHOULD BE MADE BEFORE FORM 5, SO THAT SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS COULD RECEIVE A BALANCED EDUCATION.

+ALTHOUGH OUR THIRD UNIVERSITY HAS NOW BEEN NAMED THE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, I STILL WISH THAT ITS CURRICULUM WILL TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE ALL-ROUND DEVELOPMENT OF A STUDENT'S CHARACTER, HE SAID.

TURNING TO TEACHERS TRAINING, HE SAID THAT THE THREE EXISTING COLLEGES OF EDUCATION, TOGETHER WITH THE HONG KONG TECHNICAL TEACHERS' COLLEGE AND THE PROPOSED FOURTH COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, SHOULD BE COMBINED INTO A FEDERAL TYPE OF TEACHERS TRAINING INSTITUTION.

THIS INSTITUTION SHOULD BECOME A STATUTORY BODY INDEPENDENT OF ANY GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS, HE SUGGESTED.

+ BY RESTRUCTURING THE COLLEGES OF EDUCATION INTO AN INDEPENDENT INSTITUTION, THE RECRUITMENT OF TEACHING STAFF WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO CIVIL SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT RESTRICTIONS AND SO IT WOULD BE EASIER TO RECRUIT SCHOLARS TO IMPROVE ACADEMIC STANDARDS,+ HE SAID.

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