XN000022-1994-01-14 — Page 7

FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 1994

FROM THE COMING SEPTEMBER, GRADUATE TEACHER POSTS WILL START TO BE PROVIDED FOR THE FIRST TIME SO THAT EVENTUALLY THE PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHING FORCE WILL COMPRISE 35 PER CENT GRADUATE TEACHERS.

SECONDARY SCHOOLS WILL ALSO BENEFIT - EACH SCHOOL WILL HAVE ΤΟ TWO MORE NON-GRADUATE TEACHERS; UP TO FOUR NON-GRADUATE POSTS MAY BE REPLACED BY GRADUATE TEACHERS AND ONE MORE POST WILL BE UPGRADED TO SENIOR GRADUATE RANK.

UP

THERE WILL, THEREFORE, NOT ONLY BE MORE GREATER PROSPECTS FOR PROMOTION.

TEACHERS BUT ALSO

IN ADDITION, THE STAFFING RATIO FOR SPLIT CLASSES FOR THE SIXTH FORM WILL BE IMPROVED FROM 1.6 TEACHERS PER CLASS то TWO TEACHERS PER CLASS.

FOR SCHOOLS WITH A HIGH PROPORTION OF STUDENTS WITH ACADEMICALLY VERY LOW STANDARDS, THEY WILL BE GIVEN EVEN MORE TEACHERS.

"YOU MAY WONDER WHY I HAVE SPOKEN AT LENGTH ABOUT THESE BORING

STATISTICS. NO, NOT BORING AT ALL, MR WONG SAID.

THESE, HE POINTED OUT, WERE GOOD NEWS FOR SCHOOLS AND

UNDERLINED THE SERIOUS DETERMINATION AND EFFORTS OF THE

GOVERNMENT IN IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN ALL

SCHOOLS.

"BUT BY THE END OF THE DAY, THIS LARGE INCREASE

IN TEACHERS,

BETTER QUALIFIED TEACHERS AND SENIOR POSTS WILL HAVE THE DESTRED EFFECTS ONLY IF TEACHERS THEMSELVES PROPERLY PLAY THE ROLE EXPECTED OF THEM. THIS, J BELIEVE, WILL BE FORTHCOMING FROM THE TEACHING PROFESSION, HE SAID.

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BUT THE EFFECTS OF ALL THE IMPROVEMENTS WOULD BE NULLIFIED IF THE SPIRIT AND ATMOSPHERE IN SCHOOLS WERE NOT MODERNISED, HE WARNED.

MR WONG SAID HE HAD BEEN ADVOCATING A CHANGE IN THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

THAT SCHOOLS SHOULD AVOID GIVING EXCESSIVE PRESSURES, TESTS AND HOMEWORK TO STUDENTS,

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STUDENTS' WORKLOAD SHOULD BE CAREFULLY PLANNED AND MONITORED. SO THAT MENTAL PRESSURES COULD BE REDUCED, AND STUDENTS COULD HAVE TIME FOR RECREATION AND TIME TO SPEND HAPPILY WITH THEIR PARENTS, BROTHERS AND SISTERS A HAPPY CHILDHOOD SHOULD NOT COMPRISE STUDIES ALONE.

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FEEL

"TEACHERS MUST DO AS MUCH AS THEY CAN TO MAKE STUDENTS THAT LEARNING IS A RELAXING, PLEASURABLE AND REWARDING EXPERIENCE, HE

EMPHASISED.

/IN CONCLUSION