ENG-1995 — Page 183

EDUCATION

The pilot scheme on school-based drug education was introduced to study the feasibility of developing and implementing a drug education programme in secondary schools. Seven courses on drug education were organised for secondary school teachers and two for primary school teachers. A Sex Education Resource Catalogue and Sex Education News were published and issued to schools. To enhance distribution of information as well as exchange of ideas and experience on the promotion of civic and moral education in schools, bulletins and a newsletter were issued to schools. The Student Environmental Protection Ambassador Scheme was introduced to primary and secondary schools to help organise environmental education activities. To promote heritage awareness, the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust Project Scheme 1995 and the Second Inter-school Competition of Study Projects on Local History were organised.

The class library service provides supplementary reading materials to support learning and encourage the habit of leisure reading in secondary school students. All public sector secondary school libraries are staffed by a teacher-librarian. In-service courses and seminars were organised for teachers on managing, developing and promoting the use of class libraries. The 1995 Reading Award Scheme for Primary 5 and 6 attracted 63 500 pupils from 343 schools and the 1995 Reading Award Scheme for Secondary 1 to 5 attracted 34 700 students from 208 schools. The School Library Newsletter continued to provide a channel of communication for schools on managing, developing and using the library to support the curriculum.

The Chinese Textbooks Committee

To encourage greater use of Chinese as the medium of instruction in secondary schools, the Chinese Textbooks Committee was set up to ensure the availability of good quality Chinese textbooks. Under an Incentive Award Scheme, a total of 82 sets of textbooks for 27 subjects at secondary level and 10 sets of reference books for five subjects at advanced level have been published. During the year, the committee surveyed the availability of quality Chinese textbooks in secondary schools.

Home-School Co-operation

The Committee on Home-School Co-operation aims to improve communication between schools and parents. Its members include educators, parents, Parent-Teacher Association chairmen and officers of the Education Department. During the year, the committee followed up the recommendations of a report on a large-scale survey conducted in 1994 to determine the perception of home-school relations among various people involved in education. It also organised promotion activities which included carnivals, seminars, exhibitions and competitions. The committee further launched a pilot scheme to set up a parent hotline in schools and a Parent-Teacher Association network.

Extra-curricular Activities

Extra-curricular activities are an integral part of school life, complementing and enriching formal learning in the classroom. The Education Department provides guidance and advice through in-service teacher education programmes and school inspections, subsidises some activities, and co-ordinates many inter-school programmes and activities. These include the Community Youth Club, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, the Lions' Sister Schools Scheme, the Schools Drama

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