ENG-1997 — Page 187

EDUCATION

Standing Committee on Language Education and Research

The Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) is a non- statutory body, set up on October 1, 1996, upon the recommendation of the Education Commission Report No. 6, to advise the government on language education issues in general, and in particular, to set goals for language learning at different levels of education, to propose specific language-attainment targets at each stage of education, and to identify research and development projects which are necessary for the enhancement of language proficiency and language in education. SCOLAR has a non-official chairman plus 20 members from the education, business and industrial and the professional sectors. The Deputy Secretary for Education and Manpower and the Deputy Director of Education are ex-officio members.

Through the Language Fund (with an uncommitted balance of more than $200 million), SCOLAR continues to support innovative and worthwhile projects to enhance language proficiency, this year with priority in the primary sector. SCOLAR also initiated research projects to examine the language competence of students on completion of primary schooling and the process whereby such competence is developed; the relationship between Putonghua and the Chinese Language teaching; the use of multi-media technology in enhancing language education and the ability of students to study in English at the tertiary level. Findings of these projects will contribute to the development of appropriate language education policies.

As its first public education initiative, SCOLAR staged an exhibition on May 31 and June 1, 1997, to disseminate the results of the Language Fund Projects. Further seminars and workshops will be organised to foster the sharing of information and experience by educators. The Hong Kong Language Education Research DataBase, collating research in both English and Chinese (including Putonghua) languages in Hong Kong, is being set up. It will ensure coherence in future research efforts and be accessible by members of the public who are interested in language education in Hong Kong.

Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications

The Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications (ACTEQ) is a non-statutory body set up in 1993, upon the recommendation of the Education Commission Report No. 5, to provide a single source of authoritative advice on teacher education programmes, and on qualifications acceptable for teaching purposes in Hong Kong. Of its 23 members, 17-including the chairman fare appointed from outside the government. They include school heads, teachers, academics and businessmen. The six ex-officio members are the Deputy Secretaries of Education and Manpower and the Civil Service, the Director of Education, the Secretary-General of the University Grants Committee, the Director of the Hong Kong Institute of Education and the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation.

The working group under ACTEQ to develop a mechanism for ensuring that teacher education activities respond to the needs of schools and the community finished the first phase of its work in 1996. For the second phase, it has commissioned a consultancy study on establishing an assessment and reporting framework to enhance the professional relevance of teachers' performance.

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