XN000022-1995-06-07 — Page 76

(b)

(c)

(d)

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The Education Department has restructured the syllabus of primary school health education by integrating Social Studies, Primary Science and Health Education into a new core subject of General Studies. The new General Studies syllabus will be introduced in 1996.

As indicated in para (a) above, secondary school students are taught through the formal curriculum about different diseases like heart diseases, cancer, AIDS and major infectious diseases including their prevention. Details of the illness covered are annexed. Similar topics are also covered through cross-curricular lessons on civic education, moral education and sex education. In addition, students are encouraged to take part in extra-curricular activities on health education such as the Student Health Ambassadors Training Project organised by the Health Department. This project aims to provide health education to secondary school pupils through a training programme consisting of a series of lectures and site visits.

Most if not all teachers of health education in primary schools should have attended this subject in their pre-service or in-service teacher education courses in the former Colleges of Education or the new Institute of Education. Secondary school teachers teaching subjects related to health education are usually subject-trained. On continuous training, the Education Department in conjunction with the Health Department organises regular in-service teacher education courses and seminars on health education for teachers for both the primary and secondary level.