CONFIDENTIAL #
XCC(74)69
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The UMELCO Ad-hoc Education Group and the Board of Education both stressed that the expedients adopted to achieve the proposed 1979 targets of 100/40% should be transitional only. Provided that the proposed schools building programme (Table II of the White Paper) is fully implemented on schedule it should prove possible to dispense with these temporary expedients by 1983, but financial considerations might require the continuation of these measures beyond 1983 until the overall school construction programme actually overtakes the school population, rendering them unnecessary.
The Secondary Schools Entrance Examination (SSEE)
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Honourable Members are no doubt aware of the strong feelings engendered by the SSEE. As soon as there are sufficient subsidised secondary places to cater for all primary school leavers it will no longer be necessary to conduct the SSEE and it will be abolished. It is not considered wise to state in the White Paper the exact year in which the SSEE will be dropped, but if the programme outlined in the White Paper is carried through without delays, the SSEE would be set for the last time in May 1978. Depending upon the Education Department being able to evolve a satisfactory alternative distribution procedure it may be possible to advance this target by a year or so, but this cannot be guaranteed at this stage. After a suitable interval to ensure that no pupils have to take both the SSEE and the new examination, a Hong Kong Junior Certificate Examination will be introduced both as a school leaving certificate for those completing nine years of education, and as a selection procedure for those wishing to continue their education in Forms IV and V.
The Language of Instruction
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In accordance with the views of the Board of Education it is intended that Chinese should eventually become the main medium of instruction in the majority of junior secondary forms, but experience in other countries indicates that this should not be rushed, and that individual school authorities should be allowed to choose the language of instruction best suited to the needs of the children attending their schools,
Criticisms to be expected
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As stated in the Introduction to the White Paper (paragraph 1.8) the conclusions reached will not satisfy everyone. Since the Green Paper, education policy has remained in the forefront of public debate, and various pressure groups have vigorously advocated their particular panacea.
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