XN000022-1997-01-20 — Page 4

3 -

Proposal to be considered in light of long-term plan

In response to media enquiries about a proposal to expand the existing Kowloon premises of the Hong Kong Teachers' Centre, the Deputy Chief Inspector of Schools of the Education Department, Mr K C Ng, said today (Monday):

"The proposal to expand the premises of the Kowloon Centre of the Hong Kong Teachers' Centre will be considered in the light of a long-term policy to be formulated on the future development of all Education Department centres.

"To maximise cost-effectiveness, the department is actively considering centralising its resource and teaching centres which are providing advisory and supporting services to teachers.

"Preferably. the Hong Kong Teachers' Centre (Kowloon) and the future centralised resource and teaching centres should be accommodated in the same premises for the convenience of teachers who are the major users of these facilities. The move will also release much needed accommodation for whole-day primary schooling.

"The key consideration of the department is, of course, the effective use of premises in the long term. Naturally, our supporting services to teachers are expected to improve with centralisation. Consideration will take some time."

End

Value of manufacturers' orders-on-hand in November 1996

The value of manufacturers' orders-on-hand for local production in November 1996 decreased by 5% over a year earlier, according to the provisional results of a monthly survey released today (Monday) by the Census and Statistics Department.

Comparing November 1996 with November 1995, the value of orders of the fabricated metal products industry increased by 9%. The textiles industry and the wearing apparel industry both recorded a slight increase of 1%, comparing with the consecutive declines for a number of months. The value of orders for the electrical products industry was virtually unchanged.