Overseas topics

Kenneth Topley, the Cantonese‐speaking Director of Education, has said that Hong Kong's Sleeping Princess of Education must await the kiss of Prince Charming in the form of economic recovery before coming to life. Although over half the population in Hong Kong is under twenty years of age, education has a fairly low priority in the present economic climate. In the recent Budget, for example, Public Works were allotted over HK $ 2,000 million, and Education less than HK $ 1,000 million. Given the next up‐turn in the economy, there are plans for a substantial increase in education expenditure. For the present, however, the stress is on quality, not quantity. Although there may be no immediate plans to increase the length of time spent in schooling, the nature of classroom instruction may change. Some 230 student teachers are taking part in an experimental project Protection of the Environment aimed at helping them to develop a more child‐centred approach to education. School subjects, such as mathematics, Cantonese, domestic science, arts and crafts, and music, have been integrated into the main theme, helping to bring home the lesson by having the topic presented from various angles.