TNAG-0795-FCO40-999-Policy-of-Government-of-Hong-Kong-on-education-1978 — Page 86

1.6 The Green Paper1 published in November 1977 put forward proposals on the development programme for education beyond the basic nine-year course, in the period up to 1986. The discussions which ensued were extensive and thorough:-

senior officers from the Education Department participated in a series of meetings arranged by the Home Affairs Department with community leaders to explain the proposals;

a summary leaflet in Chinese was distributed through public libraries, city district offices etc.;

educational bodies and the public at large were invited to comment on the pro- posals in the Green Paper; their comments and views expressed in articles in the press were considered and discussed within the Government;

the Secretary for Social Services held discussions on the Green Paper with repre- sentatives of the main tertiary institutions;

a team from the Home Affairs Department and the University of Hong Kong supervised a survey of the opinions of teachers and school principals, students, parents and employers on aspects of the Green Paper;

an expert from the University of London Institute of Education made a three- week visit to Hong Kong in February and March 1978 to advise on various aspects of educational planning, in particular the social and economic implications;

the Green Paper was the subject of a debate in the Legislative Council during July and August 1978.

1 Senior secondary and tertiary education: a development programme for Hong Kong over the next decade

2