****************************************************************
The following is issued on behalf of the Education Commission:
The Chairman of the Education Commission (EC), Dr the Hon. Rosanna Wong, today (October 10) welcomed the Chief Executive's Policy Address which once again placed education at the top of the Government's social policy agenda and emphasised the Government's commitment to continue to invest in education regardless of the economic situation. She also welcomed the initiatives announced in the Policy Address to strengthen support for schools and teachers and to enhance the quality of education.
Dr Wong said, "The Policy Address has put forward a series of initiatives that are conducive to enhancing the quality of education, including the provision of curriculum leaders as well as Native-speaking English Teachers and English Language Teaching Assistants to primary schools; the enhancement of the Capacity Enhancement Grant for secondary schools by 50 per cent; and the provision of resources for primary schools to employ student guidance teachers or social workers. These initiatives are practical and address the needs of schools and teachers. They shall help to create room for frontline teachers, and facilitate schools in enhancing the effectiveness of teaching and learning. I hope that schools and teachers can make good use of the room and opportunities brought about by these initiatives and work in partnership with various sectors of the community to implement the education reform."
End/Wednesday, October 10, 2001
NNNN
