ENG-2003 — Page 192

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EDUCATION

Specifically, it recommended that basic competencies in Chinese and English expected of students, university graduates and working professionals should be specified, and that the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority should develop standards-referenced public examinations in Chinese and English for assessing Secondary 5 and Secondary 7 students from 2007 and 2009, respectively.

The Standing Committee also recommended that school management, teachers, parents, the mass media, and the Government should work together to create a more motivating language learning environment for students and working adults, and that all English Language and Putonghua teachers should meet the Language Proficiency Requirement within the time frame specified by the Government.

The Government has supported the Action Plan set out by the SCOLAR. Two key support measures are being implemented. An incentive grant scheme will be set up in the first quarter of 2004, to encourage serving Chinese and English Language teachers to pursue professional development and upgrade their qualifications. A Task Force on Language Support will also be formed to provide local schools with on-site and/or district-based professional support to enhance the curriculum development and pedagogical capability of the Chinese and English language panels.

International Recognition

In July, the findings of the Programme for International Student Assessment placed Hong Kong students first in mathematics, third in science and sixth in reading literacy among 43 economies. More importantly, the study found that students of different socio-economic backgrounds in Hong Kong have similar access to, and benefit from, the education system. The study sought to measure how well 15-year-old students performed when they approached the end of compulsory education. Tests and background questionnaires were administered to a large representative sample of students in each of the 43 participating economies. The results were a confidence booster to the educators and provided evidence-based data on the strengths of Hong Kong's education system.

Combating SARS

The Education and Manpower Bureau played the role of a leader, an adviser, as well as a partner with schools in combating SARS when the disease broke out early in the year. It was committed to ensuring that all schools had put in place an effective mechanism, with implementation strategies, to guard against the disease.

A Central Task Force on SARS was set up at the outset to facilitate the formulation of counter measures and to monitor the situation. The bureau worked in close collaboration with relevant government departments, in particular the Department of Health, in formulating a series of effective counter measures. These included requiring schools to report any cases of SARS, drawing up contingency plans for an emergency situation, disinfecting school premises, home confinement of affected persons, suspension and resumption of classes, and special holiday arrangements. Parents were also required to check their children's temperature before they left home for school. To answer public enquiries, eight telephone hotlines were set up at the peak of the outbreak. A reporting mechanism was also put in place to enhance effective communication between the bureau, the schools and the Department of Health. Furthermore, to ensure that schools would maintain a state of heightened awareness at all times, a comprehensive Handbook on Prevention of SARS in Schools was