ENG-1983 — Page 19

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The Panel's Task

EDUCATION AT THE CROSSROADS

Sir John Llewellyn and his panel began their task in their home bases with a study of all major policy documents with educational implications issued since 1963, together with background information prepared by the Hong Kong Government on the education system its nature, development, structure and inter-relationships with other areas of government and community endeavour. Because it was considered vital that the panel should be fully apprised of public opinion on the system, the Secretary for Education issued an open invitation for written representations to the panel on any educational matter. A total of 56 representations was received, many of them from large interest groups, and these were forwarded without comment to the panel. In November 1981 the panel made a two- week visit to Hong Kong where members met the individuals and groups who had made representations to them and visited a sample of schools and other educational institutions. Between December 1981 and February 1982 the panel prepared a working draft of their report as a basis for further discussion. In April 1982 Sir John and his team returned to Hong Kong to discuss their draft report with the UMELCO Education Panel, the Board of Education, the University and Polytechnic Grants Committee, government officials and six invited overseas experts whose participation enabled the international perspectives of the review to be greatly extended and enhanced. The overseas participants were drawn from Malaysia, Singapore, Denmark, Canada, and Japan. They included Mr Arthur Maddocks, United Kingdom representative to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), on whose advice the Llewellyn team had been appointed. The discussions were supplemented by a broader debate in two very lively public sessions chaired by Mr George Papadopoulos, Deputy Director for Education, OECD, in which representatives of the main educational interest groups participated actively.

The panel revised their report during the period May to October 1982 in the light of the discussions and views expressed during their second visit, additional material coming to hand and changes to policy and practice which had occurred during the 18 months which had passed since the review had begun. The panel's final report, referred to popularly as the Llewellyn Report, was submitted to the Governor via the Secretary for Education in November 1982.

The Panel's Recommendations

In their letter of transmittal the panel 'members pointed out that while their report contained a number of suggestions for change and improvement, they understood full well the unusual challenges that Hong Kong educators faced:

"The range and complexity of educational objectives and the requirements they imply for learning resources places exceptionally high demands on your system. Consequently we have kept in mind that our recommendations need to be considered within the context of a unique area of the world, bridging as it does several cultures and societies. We recognise the great educational strides made in the recent past, but also the need to sustain efforts to enable further progress to be made. The task is not an easy one and we do not underestimate the challenges involved.

'We have resisted the temptation to become embroiled in fascinating but diverting technical detail. . . and we have left some problems untackled because, however significant, they are not central to the charter given to us. Instead we have concen- trated on matters of broad principle relating particularly to the articulation of the several cycles of formal education and hence the smooth progression from pre-school to university.