ENG-1985 — Page 147

EDUCATION

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An employment survey on disabled leavers from skills centres and technical institutes conducted at the beginning of the year showed that about 70 per cent of the survey group found appropriate employment in the government, industrial or commercial sectors.

Teacher Education

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General teacher education is provided at the three Colleges of Education Grantham, Northcote and Sir Robert Black - and at the Hong Kong Technical Teachers' College, all administered by the Education Department.

The three general Colleges of Education offer a two-year full-time course of initial teacher training to students with the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination qualifica- tions and a three-year full-time course to students with the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination qualifications. The Colleges of Education also conduct in-service training courses, including part-time courses for serving teachers of kindergartens, primary and secondary schools and for teachers of students with special education needs. In September, there were 1 358 students in the three-year full-time course, 1 003 students in the two-year full-time course, 77 students in the Advanced Course of Teacher Education, and a total of 2 103 students in the in-service training and retraining courses.

Technical teacher education is offered by the Hong Kong Technical Teachers' College. The college trains technical teachers for secondary and prevocational schools. A one-year full-time course is available to mature students who are well qualified and experienced in a technical field and have decided to take up technical teaching as a career. Inducement grants are offered to attract suitable recruits from commerce and industry. A three-year full-time course is open to secondary school leavers who have prior studies in either technical or commercial subjects. The college also offers in-service courses for teachers, including the Advanced Course of Teacher Education in Design and Technology and Commerce, and courses for supervisors and instructors employed in industry. In Septem- ber, there were 176 students in the full-time courses and 150 students in the part-time and short courses.

Financial assistance in the form of interest free loans and maintenance grants is provided by the government for students enrolled in the full-time courses at the four colleges.

Language in Education

The Institute of Language in Education (ILE), founded in 1982 as a training and research institute to improve language learning and teaching in Hong Kong, organises refresher courses, seminars and workshops for teachers of English and Chinese (including Putong- hua); provides consultancy services to teachers and language teaching specialists; and develops and tests language learning and teaching materials for use in schools. The institute is recognised by the Royal Society of Arts Examinations Board as a centre for courses leading to the Diploma for Overseas Teachers of English. During the year, the institute organised refresher courses for over 1 600 teachers of English and Chinese; conducted an international seminar on language teacher education; launched a research programme into problems associated with language learning and teaching, and issued the institute's first professional journal.

The Education Commission has recommended that secondary schools should be encouraged to adopt Chinese as the medium of teaching, on the grounds that teaching and learning are more effective if conducted in the mother tongue. Secondary schools which teach in English will be asked in 1986 to consider whether they wish to make greater use of Chinese. The availability of suitable texts is an important factor for secondary schools