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EDUCATION

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system of technical education and industrial training suited to the developing needs of Hong Kong. It administers technical colleges, technical institutes, industrial training centres and skills centres for the disabled. The VTC also administers the statutory apprenticeship scheme. The council's 23 members include industrialists, academics and government officials.

To ensure that the VTC's advice and operations meet the needs of industry and the service sector, the government has appointed, on the council's advice, 20 training boards and eight general committees with members representing those who employ the graduates of VTC training courses. Each training board is responsible for training in one sector of the economy, such as electronics, textiles and insurance; while general committees are concerned with training relevant to several sectors, such as precision tooling, translation and the training of technologists.

During the year, the VTC completed the building of a new technical college on Tsing Yi Island and the conversion of the former Chai Wan Technical Institute into a second technical college. Both colleges offer higher diploma and higher certificate courses transferred from the polytechnics, as part of the government's plans for expanding tertiary education. They admitted their first students in October. Planning started for a new skills centre at Pok Fu Lam, with a tentative completion date of mid-1996.

The Hong Kong Examinations Authority

The authority is an independent, self-funding and non-profit-making statutory body, with members drawn from the teaching profession, tertiary institutions and the business community. Its main role is to operate two local public examinations the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) and the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE). It also offers proficiency tests in Putonghua, aimed at adults. On behalf of overseas examining bodies, the authority conducts a large number of examinations leading to academic, professional or practical qualifications.

In 1993, 118 500 candidates entered for the HKCEE, and 22 000 for the HKALE, Candidates for overseas examinations totalled 204 000, of whom 62 500 sat for the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 45 800 for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, and 21 100 for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) examinations.

Among the subjects studied by sixth form students were 17 new advanced supplementary subjects, which will be examined for the first time in 1994. These subjects provide students with a broader sixth form curriculum, which includes two core language subjects: Use of English, and Chinese Language and Culture.

The Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation

The council has 22 members, including senior academics from Hong Kong and overseas, and local industrialists and business people. Its activities are administered by a small professional secretariat with expertise and experience in higher education and quality

assurance.

The council reviews the non-university degree-awarding institutions and their individual courses, to ensure that the degrees they award meet internationally-recognised standards. On average, about 40 review exercises have been conducted yearly, but this number will be reduced as, during the year, the two polytechnics and Baptist College were granted full