ENG-1987 — Page 161

EDUCATION

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leading up to the Certificate of Education, Higher Level and Advanced Level Music Examinations. Forty more places were offered in an additional Secondary 4 Certificate of Education class. Students of the scheme continued to obtain very good results in public examinations.

There were 6 362 entries for the 39th Annual Schools Music Festival organised by the Hong Kong Schools Music and Speech Association. Over 66 000 pupils competed in 272 classes judged by five overseas and nine local adjudicators and the festival ended with a series of five prize-winners concerts.

Technical and Commercial Education

The teaching of technical and commercial subjects as part of the general curriculum in secondary schools continued to expand. During 1987, some 180 secondary schools offered courses in Design and Technology. Compared with 42 schools in 1974, this represented a growth rate of over 400 per cent during the past 12 years. The revision of the teaching syllabus for Technical Drawing was completed and approved by the Curriculum Develop- ment Committee. The draft of the English-Chinese Glossary of Terms commonly used in the teaching of technical and commercial subjects was also revised. To provide a venue and resources for running the in-service teacher training programme, the Technical Teaching Centre was set up in the former Lok Fu Government Primary School at Junction Road, Kowloon. The centre provided an ideal location for technical teachers to make teaching aids and to share their experiences in technical teaching. As in previous years a competition to find the 'Young Hong Kong Designer of the Year' was organised jointly by the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, the Design Council of Hong Kong and the Education Department.

The Commercial Subjects Section organised the fifth Commercial Projects Competition with the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society. The aims of the competition were to arouse the interest of secondary school pupils in various commercial activities in Hong Kong and to encourage a more lively approach to the teaching of commercial subjects. 'Commerce and Civic Education' was chosen as the theme of the 1987 projects and about 1 500 pupils took part in the competition. The section also assisted in promoting civic education by organising seminars as well as producing reference materials for teachers of commercial subjects.

Computer Education

To expand computer education in Hong Kong schools, a new subject, called Computer Literacy was introduced into the junior secondary curriculum in September 1987. The aim of this subject is to enable all students to receive some basic knowledge of computers while going through their nine years of free education. A Computer Education Centre, a training and resource centre for teachers established with a grant of $4.5 million from the MacLehose Fund, was opened by the Acting Governor, Sir David Akers-Jones in February.

Community Youth Club

The Community Youth Club (CYC), established in 1977, continued to take part in building up a strong community spirit and in promoting civic-mindedness among students. Its 250 000 members contributed substantially towards various public campaigns. There are now 19 district committees whose boundaries correspond with those of the City and New Territories Administration.