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EDUCATION

Basic training courses in educational management for heads and senior teachers of schools in the public sector were provided by the department's Training Unit. Various seminars, short courses, induction and basic training courses were also offered for pro- fessional officers and new recruits of the department.

Adult Education

The department's Adult Education Section provides formal and non-formal education in the evening through a number of courses and activities, and assists voluntary organisations through a subvention scheme.

Formal courses cover remedial education, second chance education and education for personal development at levels ranging from primary to post-secondary. Some courses are jointly operated with other government departments. Various teachers' courses provide opportunities for serving teachers to refresh their knowledge and skills in a variety of cultural subjects. Over 20 000 people enrolled on formal courses during the year.

Non-formal education courses cover a variety of cultural, social, recreational and educational activities to stimulate social awareness, cultivate creativity and develop individual talents and skills. Nineteen Adult Education and Recreation Centres operate in various administrative districts. Numerous activities are organised with other government departments and organisations. Over 30 000 people participated in these courses and activities.

Subvented courses run by voluntary agencies supplement and complement those operated by the department. In 1989-90, government subsidies were granted to 296 projects operated by 62 organisations.

Language in Education

To improve the quality of Chinese teaching, an additional graduate teacher of Chinese was provided to every public-sector secondary school with 18 classes or more with effect from September 1989. Smaller schools were given enhanced provision for teaching Chinese in September 1986.

To encourage secondary schools to increase the use of Chinese as the language of instruction, additional teachers of English and other resources have been provided since September 1988 to secondary schools which made greater use of Chinese, so as to avert any consequential drop in the standard of English due to reduced exposure. In 1989, a further 25 schools increased their use of Chinese as the medium of instruction.

The Expatriate English Language Teacher pilot scheme came to an end in mid-1989. The final evaluation revealed that the scheme had had a significant effect in several areas of English language learning. At year's end, planning was in progress for a more permanent scheme to help secondary schools recruit expatriate English language teachers. Mean- while, to maintain continuity, 11 aided schools in the pilot scheme, and eight government schools which had vacancies for English teachers, recruited 33 expatriate teachers for up to two years.

The Chinese Textbooks Committee (CTC) continued its work in support of the policy of encouraging schools to adopt Chinese as the medium of instruction. Phase 1 of an incentive award scheme encouraged the production of 59 sets of Chinese textbooks for 14 general subjects at secondary level by September 1989. Phase 2 was aimed at producing Chinese textbooks for eight practical and technical subjects at secondary level for use by September 1991. $3.6 million has been awarded to participating publishers to produce quality text- books with editorial assistance provided by the department.