XN000022-1989-05-10 — Page 18

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 1989

"WE WILL BE PUTTING PROPOSALS ON THIS SCHEME TO THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL IN THE NEAR FUTURE, HE SAID.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE

TEACHER

MR BRIDGE NOTED THAT THE EXPATRIATE PILOT SCHEME WOULD BE EVALUATED DURING THE SUMMER AND THE RESULTS WOULD BE EXAMINED CAREFULLY BEFORE LONGER-TERM PROPOSALS WERE DEVELOPED.

PILOT

HE SAID THAT ANOTHER

SCHEME ΤΟ PROVIDE INTENSIVE LANGUAGE TRAINING IN HONG KONG FOR LOCAL PRIMARY SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHERS WAS BEING CONSIDERED.

ON TEACHER TRAINING, MR BRIDGE SAID A PROGRAMME WHICH WOULD DOUBLE THE NUMBERS OF PRIMARY TEACHERS BEING RE-TRAINED EACH YEAR HAD BEEN WORKED OUT AFTER CONSULTATION WITH THE TEACHRS UNIONS.

"WE ARE ALSO EXPLORING HOW THE NUMBERS OF TEACHERS SECONDARY RE-TRAINING COURSES COULD BE INCREASED.

ATTENDING

"SOME OF THE WIDER ASPECTS OF TEACHER TRAINING ARE BEING EXAMINED BY THE EDUCATION COMMISSION IN ITS STUDY OF THE COLLEGES OF EDUCATION," HE ADDED.

TURNING TO TERTIARY EDUCATION, MR BRIDGE SAID THE NUMBER OF UNIVERSITY PLACES HAD INCREASED SURPRISINGLY SINCE THE EARLY 1960'S.

"WE NOW PROVIDE 35,000 FULL TIME PLACES IN FIVE INSTITUTIONS WITH ABOUT SEVEN PER CENT OF THE AGE GROUP TAKING DEGREE COURSES AND FOUR PER CENT TAKING DIPLOMAS.

"WE HAVE PLANS TO FURTHER EXPAND TO 62,000 PLACES BY THE YEAR 2000, HE SAID.

MR BRIDGE NOTED THAT A MAJOR PART IN THE EXPANSION WOULD BE PLAYED BY THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.

IN ADDITION, THE OPENING LEARNING INSTITUTE WOULD START ENROLLING STUDENTS BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR.

"ITS AIM IS TO PROVIDE BOTH DEGREE AND AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE STUDYING AT THEIR SAID.

SUB-DEGREE COURSES TO OWN PACE, MR BRIDGE

ON THE NEED TO INCREASE RESEARCH AND STRENGTHEN TIES BETWEEN INDUSTRY AND EDUCATION, MR BRIDGE SAID THE GOVERNING COUNCILS OF THE TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS AND THE UNIVERSITY AND POLYTECHNIC GRANTS COMMITTEE (UPGC) ALREADY INCLUDED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE BUSINESS AND INDUSTRIAL SECTORS.

MR BRIDGE ALSO AGREED TRAINING REQUIREMENTS THROUGH COMMITTEES NEEDED TO BE REVIEWED.

THAT ARRANGEMENTS FOR IDENTIFYING ADVISORY OR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

/HE SAID ........