XN000022-1992-05-13 — Page 8

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 1992

LET ME START WITH THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT. SINCE 1990, SIX NEW PRIMARY SCHOOLS AND 14 NEW SECONDARY SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED ΤΟ IMPROVED STANDARD DESIGNS. THESE PROVIDE, RESPECTIVELY, 32% AND 15% ΤΟ

MORE SPACE THAN THE FORMER DESIGNS, AS WELL AS ADDED FLEXIBILITY MEET MODERN EDUCATIONAL NEEDS. MOREOVER, THE NEW SCHOOLS ARE EQUIPPED WITH MICRO-COMPUTERS TO HELP COPE WITH THE MANY ADMINISTRATIVE TASKS ASSOCIATED WITH NORMAL SCHOOL OPERATION. THERE IS ALSO AN ON-GOING PROGRAMME TO UPGRADE THE OLDER SCHOOLS BY PROVIDING THREE ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONAL ROOMS IN EACH OF THEM. TO DATE, SUCH CONVERSION WORK HAS BEEN COMPLETED IN 53 SCHOOLS, AND EIGHT MORE WILL UNDERGO SIMILAR CONVERSION IN THIS FINANCIAL YEAR.

OF

ANOTHER MAJOR EFFORT TO IMPROVE THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT FOR TEACHERS IS THE NOISE ABATEMENT PROGRAMME INVOLVING THE PROVISION AIR-CONDITIONING AND DOUBLE GLAZED WINDOWS FOR SCHOOLS AFFECTED BY TRAFFIC AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE. WORK ON 85 SCHOOLS HAS BEEN COMPLETED. ANOTHER 79 ARE IN THE PROGRAMME, WITH WORK ON 24 OF THEM EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED BY SEPTEMBER 1992. I SHOULD ALSO MENTION THAT, APART FROM THIS PROGRAMME, OVER 100 SCHOOLS HAVE HAD THEIR STAFF ROOMS AND GENERAL OFFICES AIR-CONDITIONED SINCE 1989. THESE IMPROVEMENTS REPRESENT SIGNIFICANT CAPITAL INVESTMENT. FOR EXAMPLE, THE COST OF A STANDARD PRIMARY SCHOOL HAS INCREASED FROM $16 MILLION TO $30 MILLION, AN INCREASE OF 88%. THE COST OF A STANDARD SECONDARY SCHOOL HAS GONE UP BY 25% FROM $28 MILLION TO $35 MILLION, THE NOISE ABATEMENT PROGRAMME HAS COST $140 MILLION UP TO NOW.

WITH REGARD TO REDUCING THE NON-TEACHING WORK OF TEACHERS + PRIMARY SCHOOLS ARE NOW PROVIDED WITH ONE OR TWO CLERICAL STAFF, DEPENDING ON SCHOOL SIZE. SECONDARY SCHOOLS ARE PROVIDED WITH A BLOCK GRANT WHICH INCLUDES THE NOTIONAL ESTABLISHMENT OF ONE SECRETARY, ONE TYPIST AND TWO CLERICAL OFFICERS (FOR A 24-CLASS SCHOOL). THESE LEVELS OF PROVISION SHOULD BE ADEQUATE AT MOST TIMES, ALTHOUGH WE RECOGNIZE THAT THERE IS A PARTICULAR PROBLEM AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL TERM. WHEN APPLICATIONS FROM PARENTS FOR VARIOUS KINDS OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE HAVE TO BE PROCESSED WITH THE HELP OF THE SCHOOLS AND SOME, IF NOT MOST, OF THIS WORK HAS FALLEN ON TEACHERS. TO SOME EXTENT, THE PROVISION OF COMPUTERS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE PURPOSES IN SCHOOLS WOULD ALLEVIATE THIS BURDEN. SO WOULD A STREAMLINING OF THE APPLICATION PROCEDURE, WHICH THE STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AGENCY IS EXAMINING. HOWEVER, THE SEASONAL NATURE OF THE EXTRA WORKLOAD SUGGESTS THAT THE ANSWER LIES,

NOT IN PROVIDING MORE CLERICAL POSTS, BUT IN MORE FLEXIBLE USE OF RESOURCES THROUGH HIRING TEMPORARY OR PART-TIME STAFF. SECONDARY SCHOOLS HAVE THIS FLEXIBILITY ALREADY. WE PLAN TO EXTEND THE SAME ARRANGEMENT TO PRIMARY SCHOOLS UNDER THE SCHOOL MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE.

/DESPITE RECENT