Concerted Efforts to Provide Education Services for Newly Arrived Children in Hong KongConcerted efforts are necessary to assist Newly Arrived Children (NAC) in Hong Kong in adapting to the local community and education system, said Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, director of education of Hong Kong, Saturday.Speaking at a seminar on education and support services for NAC, Cheung called on tertiary institutions, primary and secondary schools, non-government organizations (NGO) and groups concerning the provision of support services all to participate in helping NAC. There were 14,000 NAC admitted to local schools last year and there would be some 15,700 students arriving in each of the next few years, amounting to 1.5 to 2 percent of the primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong, he said. "To assist NAC in resolving difficulties encountered in adaptation, the Education Department has been subsidizing NGO to run the 60-hour long Induction Program for free since April 1995. "The program intends to help them integrate and adapt to the local community and education system more quickly," he said, adding that about 58,000 NAC have participated in this program since 1995. "The ED also maintains close liaison with schools, NGO and tertiary institutions to gauge and adopt their opinions with a view to strengthening the services," he added. In September 1997, the School-based Support Scheme was introduced to provide grants to schools admitting NAC for offering various support services. Starting from 2000, the Education Department provides the full-time and integrated Initiation Program for NAC to enhance the English standard of NAC, foster social adaptation and provide classroom learning experience. At present, there are three schools running the Initiation Program. The Education Department is planning to set up another two to serve NAC in February 2002. |
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