142 Education
non-local curricula, including the national curriculum of the United Kingdom, America, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Singapore and others such as the International Baccalaureate programmes, providing about 35 100 school places.
Special Education
Students with severe learning difficulties and multiple disabilities are offered places in special schools for more intensive support. Other students with special educational needs are enrolled in ordinary schools which adopt a Whole School Approach to support them. In September, some 22 000 students with special educational needs were studying in public sector primary and secondary schools. There were 60 special schools, nineteen of which have boarding facilities. Together, they provided around 8 400 school places and 1 000 boarding places for students with severe special educational needs or multiple disabilities.
The Government also helps gifted students to develop their capabilities through different programmes. The Government has set up a thematic support network on gifted education comprising 80 schools to facilitate sharing of experiences and
resources.
The Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (The HKAGE) began operation in September 2008. To date, it is responsible for the promotion of gifted education in Hong Kong; the organisation and commissioning of challenging off-site programmes for 3 300 secondary students aged 10-18 years; providing support to over 2 000 teachers through training programmes; offering advice and support to more than 6 000 parents of gifted children through advisory services, talks and seminars; and providing online information through the academy's website for the wider gifted community.
Project Yi Jin
Some 14 000 full-time and part-time students joined the Government's Yi Jin programme in the 2009-10 academic year. It was launched in 2000 to provide an alternative route to continuing education for secondary school leavers and adult learners. Successful completion of the programme earns the students a qualification comparable to five passes in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination. for employment and continuing education purposes. The programme is run by member institutions of the Federation for Continuing Education in Tertiary Institutions and has both full-time and part-time modules.
Drawing on the success of the project, the Yi Jin/Secondary Schools Collaboration Project was introduced to 10 secondary schools in 2004. As at September 2009, 483 students in 12 secondary schools were taking part in the project.
Vocational Education
The Vocational Training Council (VTC) is a statutory body established in 1982 to provide a comprehensive system of vocational education and training for school
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