ENG-1994 — Page 197

EDUCATION

Festival in early 1994, and over 1 600 students took part in the annual winners' perform- ances. The Schools Dance Team participated in the Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau Dance Exchange in July.

Training courses and competitions in canoeing, fencing, life-saving, gymnastics, trampolining, wind-surfing, netball and lion dancing, organised by the Education Depart- ment, attracted about 1000 course participants and 1 800 competitors. About 24 000 students and teachers from primary, secondary and special schools attended subsidised outdoor education camps. The Schools Physical Fitness Award Scheme, jointly organised by the department and the Hong Kong Childhealth_Foundation, attracted about 28 000 pupils from 180 schools, and 1 500 badges were awarded. Athletes from primary and secondary schools were selected to represent Hong Kong in the Schools Interport Com- petitions among Hong Kong, Macau, Guangdong and Fuzhou.

In July, the Hong Kong Schools Sports Council hosted the Asian Schools Basketball Championships (Girls), with support from the Education Department, Urban Council, Hong Kong Sports Development Board and Hong Kong Basketball Association. Ten contingents from Korea, China, India, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Hong Kong took part.

Also in July, the Hong Kong Mathematical Society hosted the 35th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) the first time the IMO was held in Southeast Asia. Over 700 young mathematicians from 73 countries took part.

The Music Festival, organised by the Hong Kong Schools Music and Speech Association, attracted 65 660 participants from 939 schools, while 67 100 students took part in the Speech Festival. Hong Kong students participated in four overseas art competitions and exhibitions in Japan, Norway and the United States of America. The Young Friends of the Hong Kong Arts Festival Scheme, jointly presented by the Education Department and the Arts Festival Society, attracted 3 940 students from 45 schools to attend pre-concert talks and concerts during the Arts Festival. The School Creative Music Showcase, jointly organised by the Education Department and the Hong Kong Composers' Guild, encouraged over 700 students to present their multimedia creative projects on stage.

Special Education

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The main policy objective of special education is to integrate the disabled into the community through co-ordinated efforts by the government and non-governmental organisations.

Early identification is an important preventive measure. Screening and assessment services identify special educational needs among school-age children, so that appropriate follow-up and remedial treatment can be given before problems develop into handicaps. Under the combined screening programme, all Primary 1 pupils are given hearing and eyesight tests. Teachers are given checklists and guides to help them detect children with speech problems and learning difficulties. Children requiring further assessments are given audiological, speech, psychological or educational assessments at special education services centres. Some are referred for ophthalmic advice.

Children identified as having special educational needs are integrated into ordinary schools as far as possible. They are placed in special schools only when their handicaps are such that they cannot benefit from the ordinary school programmes. There are 63

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