ENG-1990 — Page 159

EDUCATION

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In August, a new fee remission scheme was introduced for needy parents who have children attending kindergartens. Eligible applicants may receive assistance in amounts ranging from 25 to 100 per cent of the weighted average of the fees charged by non- profit-making kindergartens.

Officers of the department inspect kindergartens and offer professional advice to school managers, teachers, parents and the public. For basic professional training, a two-year, part-time day-release course leading to Qualified Kindergarten Teacher status and a 12-week, part-time evening course leading to Qualified Assistant Kindergarten Teacher status are conducted by the Grantham College of Education. An identical part-time day- release course leading to Qualified Assistant Kindergarten Teacher status is conducted by the Kindergarten Section of the Advisory Inspectorate of the department. To facilitate attendance by teachers, regional training centres are now in use and more centres are being planned for the coming year at other convenient locations.

The department's Kindergarten Section also organises seminars, workshops and ex- hibitions to help heads and teachers raise their professional standards. During the year a series of curriculum development materials was produced to help teachers in planning educational activities. A booklet for parents was also compiled for issue in 1990.

Primary Education

Free primary education has been provided in all government schools and in nearly all aided Schools since September 1971. In the few aided primary schools where fees are charged, the fees may be remitted in cases of hardship. Some parents continue to send their children to the 78 private schools, although places are available in the public sector.

In September, primary school enrolment totalled 524919 and enrolment in primary- level evening schools for adults totalled 1801. During the year, seven new schools were completed, providing 14400 primary places. Six of these schools are located in developing new towns to cater for the needs of the growing population. The other is located in a public housing estate in Kwun Tong, which has recently been redeveloped.

Most primary schools operate on a bisessional basis, with children attending either a morning or an afternoon session. In October 1989, the government announced its intention to convert all Primary 5 and 6 to whole-day operation.

The Primary One Admission Scheme was introduced in 1983 to monitor admission to Primary 1 in government and aided schools. Of the 72 324 children who took part this year, 44991 or 62.2 per cent were allocated places in schools of their parents' choice. The remainder were allocated places in schools in their own districts, parental preference having been taken into account.

Primary 6 leavers are allocated secondary school places in the public sector through the Secondary School Places Allocation (SSPA) System, based on internal school assessments scaled by a centrally-administered Academic Aptitude Test, and on parental choice. During the year, 84044 Primary 6 students participated in the SSPA and were allocated places in public sector schools. Half were allocated to the school of their first choice.

Secondary Education

In 1978, free education was extended to junior secondary classes. For senior secondary education leading to the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination, the policy target is to provide, by 1991, subsidised Secondary 4 places for about 85 per cent of the