XN000022-1991-11-26 — Page 12

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1991

IMPROVE THE MORALE AND STATUS OF TEACHERS THROUGH TEACHER PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL MANAGEMENT, IMPROVED COMMUNICATION AND CONTACTS WITH PARENTS, PROMOTION OF PROFESSIONALISM INCLUDING ETHICS AND A CODE OF PRACTICE, AND RECOGNITION TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS.

OF

MR CHAN SAID THESE SUBJECT AREAS ARE NOT ONLY INTER-RELATED BUT ARE ALSO TO A LARGE EXTENT INTER-DEPENDENT.

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DEVELOPMENT IN RESPONSE TO ONE AREA MUST BE COMPLEMENTED BY DEVELOPMENT IN ANOTHER IN ORDER FOR THE REFORMS TO BE EFFECTIVE, HE EXPLAINED.

"FOR EXAMPLE, WE ARE MORE LIKELY TO ATTRACT MORE YOUNG PEOPLE OF GOOD CALIBRE, WITH REAL INTEREST IN TEACHING, IF THE STATUS OF THE TEACHING PROFESSION IS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED, HE SAID.

MR CHAN SAID THE STATUS OF THE PROFESSION DEPENDS TO A LARGE EXTENT ON HOW WELL EDUCATED AND TRAINED THE TEACHERS ARE FOR THEIR WORK. SO THIS IS RELATED TO THE NEED TO UPGRADE AND IMPROVE TEACHER TRAINING.

"THIS IN TURN RELIES ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR TEACHER TRAINING AS WELL AS THE EFFICIENT ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES AND THEIR EFFECTIVE UTILISATION, THUS REQUIRING A MORE CO-ORDINATED APPROACH ΤΟ TEACHER TRAINING,

MR CHAN ALSO REVEALED THAT TWO FUNDAMENTAL REFORMS ARE ALREADY BEING INTRODUCED TO ENHANCE THE PROFESSIONALISM AND JOR SATISFACTION OF TEACHERS.

THE FIRST IS

THE INTRODUCTION OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS OF ATTAINMENT TARGETS AND RELATED ASSESSMENT. IT WILL INITIALLY BE IN CHINESE, ENGLISH AND MATHEMATICS BUT ARE LIKELY TO BE EXTENDED TO MORE SUBJECTS IN TIME.

THE SECOND IS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SCHOOL MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE SCHEME WHICH IS AIMED, AMONGST OTHER THINGS, TO DEMOCRATISE SCHOOL MANAGEMENT AND TO ENSURE THAT ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEMS PROVIDE EFFECTIVE SUPPORT TO THE CLASSROOM TEACHER.

UNDER THE SCHEME, TEACHERS WILL BECOME MORE INVOLVED IN SCHOOL DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES.

THIS SHOULD HELP TO FOSTER A GREATER SENSE OF PROFESSIONALISM AND JOB SATISFACTION AMONG THEM, AND ENABLE SCHOOLS TO DRAW MORE FULLY ON THE SKILLS, ENERGY AND COMMITMENT OF THEIR STAFF.

TAUGHT

AND

MR CHAN REITERATED THAT HOW WELL STUDENTS WERE EDUCATED WAS DEPENDENT TO A LARGE EXTENT ON THE QUALITY OF TEACHERS.

REPORT

AS SUCH, THE IMPACT OF THE PROPOSALS TO BE CONTAINED IN NO. 5 OF THE EDUCATION COMMISSION WILL BE OF VITAL IMPORTANCE.

HE CALLED ON ALL TEACHERS AND SCHOOL

STUDY

ADMINISTRATORS

TO

CAREFULLY

THE REPORT WHICH IS DUE FOR RELEASE NEXT YEAR, AND COMMENT ON ITS RECOMMENDATIONS.

"THIS OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE MEANINGFUL REFORMS TO THE TEACHING PROFESSION MUST NOT BE MISSED," HE URGED.

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