XN000022-1992-10-13 — Page 7

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1992

QUESTION:

MR GOVERNOR, I AM AN EDUCATION WORKER. IN YOUR POLICY ADDRESS YOU SAID THE RECURRING EXPENDITURE IN EDUCATION WILL BE INCREASED BY 15.8% IN REAL TERMS. I AM AT THE SAME TIME HAPPY AND UPSET. BECAUSE I AM A PRE-PRIMARY TEACHER AND I DON'T THINK YOU HAVE RECOGNISED THE IMPORTANCE OF PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION. TAIWAN DOES, CHINA DOES. AND A LOT OF COUNTRIES DO, BUT THE GOVERNMENT GAVE THE REASON THAT THE CHILDREN DO NOT HAVE TO FINISH KINDERGARTEN OR GO TO CHILD CARE CENTRES BEFORE THEY GO TO PRIMARY SCHOOL, BUT NOW IN HONG KONG, MORE THAN 90% OF THE PARENTS SEND THEIR CHILDREN TO KINDERGARTEN AND CHILD CARE CENTRES, SPENDING SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS A MONTH OR SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS A MONTH. ARE THEY DOING JUST A USELESS THING? I THINK IN THE PRESENT EDUCATION SYSTEM IN HONG KONG, PRE- PRIMARY EDUCATION IS VERY IMPORTANT. THE STATUS OF PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION WORKERS AND THE QUALITY OF THE PRIMARY EDUCATION WOULD BE SUBSTANTIALLY RAISED IF THE GOVERNMENT WOULD GIVE THE RECOGNITION ΤΟ THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION. WHAT DO YOU THINK, MR GOVERNOR, ABOUT THE VIEW THAT PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION IS NOT NECESSARY?

GOVERNOR:

CAN I FIRST OF ALL SAY THAT IN ANY SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS, IN ANY DEVELOPMENTS IN EDUCATION, HOWEVER EXTENSIVE THEY ARE YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE PRIORITIES.

I WAS BEING CRITICISED LAST WEEK BY SOME PEOPLE FOR PROPOSING THAT WE SHOULD SPEND TOO MUCH MONEY IN HONG KONG. ACTUALLY, I THINK THAT WE'VE PUT FORWARD PROPOSALS THAT WE CAN AFFORD BUT IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE ALL RECOGNISE IN A RESPONSIBLE WAY THAT WE CAN'T DO EVERYTHING THAT WE WOULD WANT, AT ONCE.

LET ME EXPLAIN WHAT I MEAN IN EDUCATION.

WE HAVE IN THE LAST FEW YEARS IN HONG KONG, DECIDED GREATLY TO EXPAND THE TERTIARY SECTOR OF EDUCATION SO THAT WITHIN A YEAR OR TWO ALMOST ONE IN FIVE OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE AGED 17 TO 20 WILL BE ABLE TO GO ON TO A UNIVERSITY OR A POLYTECHNIC. BUT WHAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SAYING TO ME IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS IS, IT'S NOT ENOUGH JUST TO PUT MORE INVESTMENT INTO HIGHER EDUCATION, WE ALSO NEED TO PUT MORE INTO OUR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND IN PARTICULAR, THEY'VE ARGUED, WE NEED TO PUT MORE INTO TEACHERS, INTO INCREASING THE NUMBER OF TEACHERS, INTO REDUCING CLASS SIZES, AND INTO RAISING THE QUALITY OF TEACHER TRAINING.

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I'VE TRIED TO RESPOND TO THAT, BEGINNING IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS, BY STARTING TO REDUCE THE SIZE OF CLASSES IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS FROM 40 TO 35 BEGINNING IN YEAR ONE. AND WHY DID I FEEL THAT ABOUT PRIMARY SCHOOLS? BECAUSE ALL OF US KNOW, AS PARENTS AND TEACHERS KNOW AS WELL

THAT THE EDUCATION THE CHILDREN GET AT THE VERY BEGINNING IS CRUCIAL TO THEIR LATER DEVELOPMENT. OF COURSE IT'S REASONABLE FOR YOU TO SAY, "YOU SHOULDN'T DO THIS JUST FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS, YOU SHOULDN'T JUST DO THIS FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND TERTIARY EDUCATION, YOU MUST DO MORE FOR PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOLS AS WELL. WE ARE DOING SOME MORE FOR PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOLS. I ANNOUNCED AN INCREASE OF, I THINK, 5,600 IN THE NUMBER OF NURSERY PLACES.

I ANNOUNCED IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FEE-REMISSION SCHEME FOR KINDERGARTENS, SO WE DO WANT TO SEE MORE DONE AT PRE-SCHOOL TOO. BUT I REPEAT WHAT I SAID AT THE BEGINNING, THAT MAKING POLITICAL DECISIONS IS ALL ABOUT TAKING DIFFICULT DECISIONS ABOUT PRIORITIES AND I THINK THIS YEAR, IT WAS RIGHT TO CONCENTRATE AS MUCH EXTRA HELP AS WE COULD ON TEACHERS AND ON PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS.

/QUESTION: GOOD

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