TNAG-1073-FCO40-1323-Policy-of-the-Government-of-Hong-Kong-on-education-including-1981 — Page 388

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by the Education Department meet the problem?

8.21

Are the educational choices available to pupils appropriate

to the stage of development which they have reached when exercising

choice - in particular, is the government right to develop prevocational

education and is it reasonable for parents to commit their children to

this form of education at the age of twelve?

8.22

Given the disjointed appearance of the various sectors of

education and the various hurdles that children face when moving from

one sector to another what, beyond existing and proposed policies, can

be done to ensure smoother progress through the system, and to reduce

competition to the level where it stimulates achievement rather than

generating anxiety? Could any additional measures be introduced within

the existing system to reduce the discontinuity which pupils face at

the various transitional points?

Role of teachers

8.23

The Education Department's recent moves to strengthen the

links between school management and teachers appear to be encouraging

harmonious and efficient working relationships within schools and

promoting a more responsive situation to problems as they emerge rather

than when attitudes have hardened. It is too early, however, to assess

the long-term effects or to determine whether they provide fully

adequate consultative arrangements within schools and between the schools

and the Department. Questions which arise include whether employment

practices within schools are generally satisfactory, whether teachers

have an adequate voice in the management of schools and whether they

have sufficient opportunities to influence the managerial practices of

the school system as a whole.

8.24

On the professional front, are teachers generally given

enough freedom within schools (consistent with overall discipline and