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this Council on 19 December 1984, it is feasible to
include putonghua in the primary curriculum as an
optional subject. Further study is now being undertaken
on the teaching of putonghua as an independent and
optional subject in secondary schools. Putonghua
training courses are now offered to in-service teachers
by the Adult Education Section, the Advisory
Inspectorate and the Institute of Language in
Education. Putonghua is also taught in the pre-service
teacher training courses run by the Colleges of
Education, as part of the complementary studies
programme.
I am pleased that Dr Ho Kam-fai and
Mrs Rita Fan supported the University and Polytechnic
Grants Committee and the Commission's recommendation
that it is inadvisable to set up an open university in
Hong Kong modelled on the UK Open University. I would
like to assure Members that Government acceptance of
this finding should not be interpreted as rejection of
the idea of open education. The Government considers
open education at all levels to be an important facet of
our education system, and evidence for this must surely
be the variety of open education courses provided by the Education Department, the universities and polytechnics,
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