Hong Kong 2003
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Major Challenges Ahead

Academic Structure Reform for Senior Secondary Education and Undergraduate Programmes

The Government will consult the community in 2004 on the three-year academic structure for senior secondary education and four-year undergraduate programmes, including the conditions, financing and development of supporting measures. The reform was recommended by the Education Commission in its Review of the Academic Structure for Senior Secondary Education and its Interface with Higher Education Report published in May. Its major objective is to remove the major constraints of the senior secondary and university curriculum, and address related problems in senior secondary education which at present is largely examination-oriented. The reform is expected to reinforce whole-person development and widen the knowledge base of students.

Review of the Medium of Instruction (MOI) and Secondary School Places Allocation (SSPA) System

To enable students to learn effectively without language barriers, the Government has adopted a MOI policy since the 1998-99 school year. Under this policy, schools are required to use the appropriate MOI having regard to student ability, teacher capability and language learning-support strategies and programmes for students. Since the appropriate MOI for most students is their mother tongue, 293 aided and government secondary schools have been using Chinese as the MOI for junior secondary classes. There are 112 secondary schools which adopt English as the MOI.

In 2000, the Education Commisison put forward recommendations to reform the SSPA system. With effect from the 2000-01 school year, the Academic Aptitude Test (AAT) was abolished and an interim SSPA mechanism introduced. The interim mechanism basically retains the various elements in the old SSPA system, except with the increase of the percentage of discretionary places from 10 per cent to 20 per cent, the abolition of the AAT and the reduction of the allocation bands from five to three. In mid-2003, the Education Commission set up a Working Group to review the interim SSPA mechanism and the existing MOI policy for secondary schools, with a view to recommending a long-term SPA mechanism and MOI arrangements, which are educationally sound and beneficial to students. Public consultation would be conducted in 2004 with a view to gauging the public's views on the issues.

Curriculum Reform

The Government is continuing with other aspects of the education reform, which include the curricula and teaching methods, and the assessment mechanism to help enhance learning and teaching effectiveness. On school curriculum reform, the Government is capitalising on past achievements in taking forward projects on curriculum planning, effective pedagogy and assessment. More resources in learning, teaching and assessment will be developed to support the primary and secondary curricula. For instance, the Curriculum Development Council will develop, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, combined Curriculum and Assessment Guides for more examination subjects to align assessment with curriculum, and learning with teaching. A pilot scheme of Career-Oriented Curriculum for senior secondary students is also under way. Its intention is to promote diversity in school curricula to meet the needs of students who would benefit from learning in areas with specific career orientation alongside more academic studies.

     
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