ENG-2013 — Page 158

Chapter 7

Education

The new senior secondary curriculum, which provides a broad and balanced curriculum for students with different abilities, interests and aptitudes, continued its successful implementation in 2013 and gained further positive feedback internationally.

Key Achievements in 2013

Development of the New Academic Structure

The New Academic Structure (NAS) has been implemented at both the senior secondary level. and post-secondary education levels. The senior secondary curriculum provides a broader, more balanced education for students. 'Applied Learning' now supplements the more. traditional academic learning, and 'Other Learning Experiences' include moral and civic education, community service, aesthetic development, physical development and career- related experiences. The NAS aligns better with the major academic systems outside Hong Kong, which enhances student mobility and Hong Kong's development as a regional education hub. More than 160 universities worldwide have already accepted the HKDSE qualification for admission purposes.

In 2013, the second three-year cycle of the new senior secondary curriculum was completed and approximately 67,600 day-school candidates attempted the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination.

Following a joint review of the senior secondary curriculum by the Curriculum Development Council, the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, and the Education Bureau at the end of the first three-year cycle, the first progress report, The New Senior Secondary Learning Journey - Moving Forward to Excel, was released in April 2013. Its short-term recommendations to fine-tune the curriculum and assessment to address schools' practical concerns were implemented in September, starting at Secondary 4 and leading to the 2016 HKDSE Examination. A medium-term review was launched in October, with medium-term recommendations to be made in July 2014 and July 2015.

122