TNAG-0658-FCO40-807-Policy-of-Government-of-Hong-Kong-on-education-1977 — Page 160

C.S. 166

CONFIDENTIAL

機密

XCC(77)19

Subsequent appointments of the Secretary will be made by the Authority, but it is considered that the Authority should build up its experience in its functions before it undertakes the major step of appointing its Secretary. It may be desirable for the first Secretary to be an officer from the Education Department with experience of the Department's present examination responsibilities, though consideration would be given also to other suitable candidates. If an officer from the Education Department were appointed, he would serve on secondment for a two or three year period.

Examinations to be administered by the Authority

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Clause 7(1)(a) and 8(1) provide that the Authority shall be res- ponsible for the administration of the specified examinations listed in the Schedule to the bill, and clause 8(2) provides that this Schedule may be amended by the Governor in Council. After consultations with the Board of Education and the two Universities it has been agreed that it would be unwise for the Authority to take over responsibility for all three specified examinations from the day of its establishment, and that it would be more conducive to continuity and to the maintenance of standards if the Authority were to phase in its control more gradually. It is therefore proposed that the Authority should administer the Certificate of Education Examina- tion from 1978, the Matriculation Examination for the Chinese University of Hong Kong from 1979 and the Hong Kong University 'A' level Examina- tion from 1980. Should it be decided to introduce any further school examinations, such as the Junior Certificate of Education, which was proposed in the 1974 White Paper on the Expansion of Secondary Education in Hong Kong, then these can, at the appropriate time, be added to the Schedule.

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The Authority will also, under clause 7(2)(c) of the bill, have the power to conduct any other examinations approved by the Governor. These examinations, generally known as external examinations, are at present administered by the Education Department on an agency basis, and include the General Certificate of Education 'O' and 'A' level Exam- inations, the Test of English as a Foreign Language, London University External Degrees, London Chamber of Commerce Examinations, and a number of examinations providing secretarial, accountancy and professional qualifications. These examinations have always been run on a "cost-plus" basis by the Education Department, and it will be a relatively simple matter for the Authority to take over their administration, with fees approved by the Director of Education under clause 7(2)(d).

Powers and duties of the Authority

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Clause 7 defines the powers and duties of the Authority. Under sub-section (2)(g) the Authority is empowered to enter into arrangements

CONFIDENTIAL **