ENG-1994 — Page 192

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EDUCATION

Primary Schools

Primary schooling, beginning at the age of six and lasting six years, is provided free of tuition fees in all government schools and in nearly all aided schools. Although enough places are available in the public sector, about 10 per cent of parents prefer to send their children to private primary schools. Admission to Primary 1 in the public sector is processed through a central allocation system, which has helped to eliminate pressure on children caused by intense competition for entry to popular schools.

Most primary schools operate bi-sessionally. The normal class size in public sector schools is 40, but in schools adopting the activity approach - a less formal, pupil-oriented approach to teaching the class size is 35. In 1993, the size of all public sector Primary 1 classes was reduced by five places, and this reduction was extended to Primary 2 classes in September. During the year, 476 847 children were enrolled in 884 primary schools.

A new school design was drawn up, to provide more facilities for activities other than formal teaching and administration. The first school of the new design is expected to be completed in 1998. The first phase of a school improvement programme, to bring existing schools up to the new standard, started in 1994 - covering 60 schools.

Whole-day schooling for all primary students is the long-term goal. Any primary school wishing to convert to whole-day operation is encouraged to do so if this will not adversely affect the supply of places in the district. New primary schools begin operating as whole- day schools wherever possible. During the year, 21 half-day primary schools converted to - whole-day operation, bringing the total to 146.

The first phase of a policy to upgrade 35 per cent of primary school teachers to graduate status started in September, when 180 graduate posts were provided. The intention is to upgrade the professional and managerial skills of staff in government and aided primary schools. The teacher to class ratio is 1.4:1 for whole-day classes (improved from 1.2 since September 1992). For bi-sessional classes, a phased improvement to 1.3 teachers per class began in 1993.

Chinese is the medium of instruction in most primary schools, with English taught as a subject from Primary 1. Many schools teach Putonghua as a timetabled subject or an after- school activity. A few primary schools use English as the language of instruction.

The Guide to the Primary Curriculum, issued by the Curriculum Development Institute in December 1993, provides guidelines for organising a coherent and well-balanced curriculum to promote the all-round development of the child. All public sector primary schools adopt a core curriculum including Chinese, English, mathematics, social studies, science, health education, music, physical education, and arts and craft. Other learning programmes are offered on a cross-curricular basis or as separate optional subjects. General studies, a new core subject which will integrate social studies, science and health education, is planned for introduction in 1996. A syllabus for each core subject is prepared by the Curriculum Development Council, and is regularly revised and updated to meet changing educational and community needs. Awareness of the benefits of the activity approach is growing, and it is now used in 267 schools.

In January, the advisory committee on implementing the Target Oriented Curriculum (TOC) recommended to the Director of Education the adoption of a modified curriculum framework, strengthened teacher education programmes, more resource support to schools, a publicity and public education programme, and an implementation plan. In July, 13