ENG-1983 — Page 123

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EDUCATION

Hong Kong, the Society for Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers and the St John Ambulance Brigade. During the year, more than 20 000 people were enrolled in the non- formal courses.

Adult education retrieval courses run by voluntary bodies have been subvented on a recurrent basis since the 1982-3 school year due to their success during the previous two years. Altogether, 47 projects from 28 voluntary organisations were granted government subsidies totalling $1.88 million in the 1982-3 school year. This increased to 73 projects from 34 organisations in 1983–4.

Advisory Inspectorate

The main function of the Education Department's Advisory Inspectorate is to promote the quality of teaching. This involves frequent visits to schools by subject inspectors to advise on curriculum matters, teaching methods and utilisation of resources, and the provision of in-service training courses, seminars and workshops for teachers. The inspectorate eval- uates textbooks and instructional materials and is also responsible for curriculum develop- ment and the production of educational television programmes. Close liaison is maintained with the universities, the polytechnic, the approved post-secondary colleges, the Hong Kong Examinations Authority, the British Council, the Consumer Council and other government departments.

During 1983, the Curriculum Development Committee (CDC) continued, through its various subject committees, to prepare and revise syllabuses, curriculum guidelines and schemes of work for implementation at pre-primary, primary and secondary school levels. To facilitate the introduction of new or revised syllabuses, courses, seminars, workshops and conferences were organised for school teachers and heads. Teaching materials were produced for distribution to schools to keep teachers abreast of new trends and serving teachers were invited to join curriculum development teams on a full-time basis.

The emphasis in curriculum development at the junior secondary level was on consolida- tion. To broaden the senior secondary curriculum, new subjects such as human biology, computer studies and social studies were introduced. Technical and commercial subjects continued to establish themselves in the secondary school curriculum. New and revised courses were developed for prevocational schools.

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More primary schools were encouraged to adopt the less formal and more pupil-centred activity approach to teaching, especially at Primary 1 to 3 levels. Special courses, seminars, workshops and visits were organised during the year for heads and teachers adopting this approach, and an exhibition on assistance available to schools was staged in July.

The Religious and Ethical Education Section was strengthened to develop religious and moral education in all schools. The Textbooks Committee continued to give guidance to schools on the selection of books, while a comprehensive list of recommended textbooks for kindergartens, primary and secondary schools was issued quarterly. To improve the quality of textbooks, the committee maintains close links with publishers of educational material.

Teaching Centres

The Advisory Inspectorate runs six centres in connection with the teaching of Chinese, English, field studies, science, mathematics and social subjects.

During the year, the Chinese Language Teaching Centre accommodated group visits from schools and conducted 47 refresher courses and workshops and 17 seminars attended by more than 2 050 teachers. In July, about 1 000 school teachers visited the centre's four-day display of teaching materials and resources for remedial teaching of Chinese at secondary