ENG-2008 — Page 189

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support they receive. This will facilitate learning in English in senior secondary and higher education. At the same time, the Government will enhance English teaching and learning in primary schools to help students build a solid foundation. The EDB is committed to stepping up its efforts in attracting talented people to the teaching profession, helping serving teachers to enhance their professionalism and enriching the English language environment in schools.

Small Class Teaching

The Government will help schools to implement small class teaching as far as possible by making available the necessary infrastructure and ensuring adequate provision of teachers. Schools are encouraged to review their teaching methods and strategies in a changed classroom setting to maximise the benefit of small class teaching to the provision of quality education.

Promotion of National Education

The EDB will launch a series of activities to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and to enhance students' understanding of the country. These activities will include thematic competitions, a project learning competition, expert and scholar talks, interflow activities on the Mainland, a national day extravaganza, and the production of relevant learning and teaching materials.

The EDB will devote additional resources to promote national education. 37 000 secondary and primary students will be sponsored to join Mainland study trips and exchange programmes, and professional training for teachers will be enhanced to enable both teachers and students to see for themselves the rapid development of the country.

To promote national education in a more strategic and systematic manner, the EDB will create a national education platform entitled 'Passing on the Torch' to bring together the efforts of various non-governmental organisations in this area of work.

Development of International Schools

Following up the new initiative of the 2007-08 Policy Address, an Expressions of Interest exercise was launched in March to gauge interest in greenfield sites and vacant school premises for the development and expansion of international schools.

To meet the expansion needs of existing international schools, two suitable vacant premises were allocated in mid-2008. The Government has also launched another allocation exercise for four greenfield sites including a site earmarked for the development of an international boarding school. The result is expected to be available in mid-2009.

Establishing a Research Endowment Fund

In the Budget 2008, the Government announced the intention to establish an $18 billion Research Endowment Fund. The investment income of the fund will replace the annual research funding allocated to University Grants Committee (UGC) funded institutions through the UGC. It will also finance research proposals on