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Chapter 7

Education

Education is the key to enabling our young people to meet the challenges of the knowledge-based world of the

21st Century. It is a vital building block of sustainable economic growth and remains the Government's top spending priority. To help students nurture and develop their potential fully in a globalised world, a new academic structure was introduced

in 2009.

Key Achievements in 2009

Implementation of the New Senior Secondary Curriculum in the New Academic Structure

The Government introduced a New Academic Structure for Senior Secondary Education and Higher Education, from Secondary 4 in September 2009. This covers three years of junior secondary education, three in senior secondary, and four at university. To help schools prepare for the new academic structure, the Education Bureau (EDB) published the Senior Secondary Curriculum Guide in January. The eight tertiary institutions funded by the University Grants Committee updated the General Entrance Requirements of Admission in July. The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) has secured international recognition of the new Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education and details will be announced in early 2010.

Medium of Instruction

To increase the opportunities for students to be exposed to and to use English, the Government has fine-tuned the medium of instruction arrangements for secondary schools. These will be implemented starting from the 2010-11 school year at Secondary 1 level, progressing each year to a higher form at junior secondary level.

Small Class Teaching

Small class teaching in public sector primary schools started with Primary 1 classes in the 2009-10 school year, will be extended progressively to Primary 6 classes in the 2014-15 school year. Schools implementing small class teaching are allocated Primary 1 students on the basis of 25 students per class.