XN000022-1996-07-22 — Page 2

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Public views on school quality sought

The Chairman of the Education Commission, Professor Rosie Young, today (Monday) renewed her appeal to all sectors of the community to give their views on the consultation pamphlet entitled 'Quality School Education ways to improve performance' which was released in mid-June for public consultation until July 31.

Speaking to the press after a meeting of the Commission, Professor Young said she was pleased with the initial response to the consultation pamphlet. The spirit and the direction of the study are generally supported by the community.

During the consultation exercise, more than 10 briefing sessions have been arranged for LegCo members, the teaching profession, educational bodies, parents, business communities and district boards to gauge their views. Some 35,000 copies of the bilingual pamphlet have been distributed.

At the meeting, members also noted the progress of the Task Group on School Quality and School Funding. It is intended that the second round of consultation on concrete proposals will commence in October.

The Director of Education, Mrs Helen C P Lai Yu, reported on the progress of various recommendations in previous Education Commission Reports No. 1-5. Most of the recommendations in the EC's earlier reports (ECR1-3) have been implemented, or are close to completion; while a few recommendations in ECR4 and 5 will need time and additional resources before they can be fully implemented.

These include the recommendations to convert primary schools to whole-day operation; to accelerate the provision of primary graduate teachers; and to improve: (i) the senior teacher ratio in bi-sessional schools, (ii) the ratio of student guidance teachers, and (iii) the teacher to class ratio in whole-day primary schools.

Members noted that the Administration will continue to seek additional resources to improve the quality of basic education, in particular at the primary level.

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