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To strengthen the public's awareness of respecting teachers, the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, in his Policy Address 1997, declared September 10 each year as "Teachers' Day".

The Director of Education, Mrs Fanny Law, urged parents and students to openly salute their teachers on this special day.

In her letter to all parents and students, she also encouraged them, from time to time, to organise activities to express their gratitude and appreciation to teachers.

She noted that teachers were not only conscientious in teaching and transmitting knowledge, but were also devoted to the nurturing of students' moral character.

"Our teachers dedicate themselves to educate the younger generation, trying their best to promote their moral, intellectual, physical, social and aesthetic development in a balanced manner so as to prepare them for future challenges," Mrs Law said.

"I hope every student would treasure the devoted efforts made by their teachers and every parent would value our teachers' contribution," she added.

The Director's letter to all parents and students is the prelude to the Teachers' Day.

The Education Department and the Committee on Respect our Teachers Campaign (the Committee) have jointly organised a series of programmes to celebrate the Teachers' Day.

Apart from "Teachers' Day Card Design Competition", the department and the Committee have also published a compact disc (CD) with songs on "Respect Our Teachers and Love Our Students".

Consisting of 13 original songs contributed by schools, the CD has been distributed to all schools and public libraries. Students may make use of the CD in celebrating the Teachers' Day.

The highlight of celebrations for Teachers' Day is a special reception to be held at the Regent Hong Kong on September 10.

Organised by the department and the Committee, the reception will be officiated by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Anson Chan.

Some 800 serving teachers and 200 guests, including representatives from education bodies, school councils, sponsoring bodies and retiring teachers have been invited to attend the function.

Meanwhile, a number of publicity programmes have been arranged to promote this special day.

Among them, a 30-second publicity short film on respecting teachers is being broadcast on television via major channels since late August.

Local celebrities are invited by the Radio Television Hong Kong to participate in a special programme, One-minute Flash, to share their experience on respecting teachers. The programme will be broadcast via Radio 1, 2 and 5 of the RTHK from September 1 to September 10.

The RTHK is also producing a 60-minute radio programme covering the series of activities on Teachers' Day. It will be broadcast via the Radio 5 on August 31 (Tuesday) at 9 pm.

Also, all local mail items will be stamped with a postmark featuring "Teachers' Day" from tomorrow (Monday) to September 12.

End/Sunday, August 29, 1999

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