XN000022-1996-05-20 — Page 9

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The Sub-committee on Special Education was established in the summer of 1994. Its main task is to advise the BoE on the further development of special education, both in the short and long terms, while taking into account the present situation and projected needs of local children and youths in the special education sector, existing government policies, views of practitioners in special education and related fields, findings of relevant research, and the development of special education in societies in comparable stages of development.

The Sub-committee met 39 times and visited several special schools. It organised three focus group discussions for teachers, school principals and representatives of school sponsoring bodies, and supporting and non-teaching staff of special schools and special education classes.

On a separate issue, BoE members noted that in the 1995-96 school year, there were 515 primary schools and 214 secondary schools which offered Putonghua as a subject in the formal curriculum. In addition, 30 secondary schools offered Putonghua as a special programme outside the formal curriculum.

The Assistant Director of Education (Curriculum Development Institute), Dr Julian Leung, told BoE members that there were currently some 1,900 serving Putonghua teachers.

"There are plans to train up an additional 2,800 teachers in three years' time so as to ensure an adequate supply of teachers.

"This is estimated on the basis that three Putonghua teachers would be required for each of the 860 primary schools and four Putonghua teachers for each of the 466 secondary schools," Dr Leung said. Dr Leung said that summer courses would be organised this year and in the next two years for students of schools which did not offer the subject in their formal curriculum.

He said: "It is intended that schools implementing the new Putonghua syllabuses should be provided with a grant. Funding of $0.75 million has been preliminarily allocated for 1998-99 and $1.5 million for 1999-2000."

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