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EDUCATION

For appointment as a school librarian, a teacher is required to have a minimum of two years' teaching experience. School librarians are required to attend a two-year part-time day release training course, organised jointly by the Education Department and the Extra-Mural Department of the University of Hong Kong. Beside general management of the school library, a school librarian is required to work closely with subject teachers and advise them, where necessary, on how to utilise the school library resources to support and enrich the school curriculum.

In March, a seminar on Library-assisted Teaching and Learning was organised for 300 secondary school teachers of various subjects and, in July, two workshops on Library- assisted Teaching and Learning of Integrated Science were attended by science teachers from over 100 secondary schools.

Education Television

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The Education Television Service (ETV) celebrated its 10th anniversary in September. The production of various educational television programmes has made a considerable impact on the education of school children in Hong Kong and is regarded as the most useful audio-visual aid currently supplementing classroom teaching. Regular viewing of ETV programmes has become a normal part of the territory's school life. ETV's total audience during 1981 was estimated at 274 000 secondary and 344 000 primary school pupils.

Educational Television Service programmes are produced locally, in colour, by the Education Department and Radio Television Hong Kong. The programmes, which are transmitted by the commercial television stations, are based on syllabuses used in primary and secondary schools. Notes for teachers suggest preparation and follow-up activities and, in the case of primary school programmes, notes for pupils are also provided. Evaluations supplied by teachers, questionnaires, visits to schools by ETV producers and inspectors, and reports from inspectors of the Advisory Inspectorate have resulted in many improve- ments to ETV since its inception in 1971.

Primary school ETV programmes cover the four basic subject areas of Chinese, English, mathematics and social studies taught at Primary 3 to 6. Secondary school programmes are produced for Forms 1 to 3 in the same four subjects, plus science.

From mid-1979, colour television receivers and video-cassette recorders have been purchased to replace, by stages, the existing black and white receivers in government and aided primary schools. During the year, a total of 685 colour receivers and 10 video-cassette recorders were supplied to the primary schools. Secondary schools already have such equipment.

Hong Kong Examinations Authority

The Hong Kong Examinations Authority, an independent statutory body, began adminis- tering the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination in 1978, the Hong Kong Higher Level Examination in 1979, and the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination in 1980. In 1981, a total of 135 701 candidates entered for the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination; 18 336 entered for the Hong Kong Higher Level Examination; and 13 435 entered for the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination.

The authority has also assumed responsibility for conducting a large number of overseas examinations on behalf of various examining bodies in Britain and elsewhere. These examinations include the General Certificate of Education, the Test of English as a Foreign Language and many others which enable students to acquire academic and professional qualifications.