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The following is issued on behalf of the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research:
The Chairman of the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR), Professor Cheng Kai-ming, welcomed the Financial Secretary's proposal in the 2013-14 Budget to inject $5 billion into the Language Fund for enhancing the biliteracy and trilingualism of the Hong Kong population to meet the ever-changing education and societal needs.
Professor Cheng remarked, "I am glad to hear the proposal of the Financial Secretary. Language education is the foundation of education. The proposal has a far-reaching and profound impact. We shall continue to make use of the Language Fund to conduct more research on language education and its application, to raise students' interests and confidence in language learning, to strengthen the professional teaching force and to build a closer partnership with relevant sectors for enhancing the effectiveness of language learning among students.
"Members of SCOLAR, comprising scholars from tertiary institutions and representatives from secondary and primary schools, as well as eminent persons from the commercial sector and society, formulate language policy taking into account the needs of students, schools and the community, and implement relevant projects to ensure that the Language Fund is properly used."
Since its establishment, the Language Fund has financed a considerable number of projects and activities. It contributes greatly to the enhancement of the learning and teaching of languages, teachers' professionalism and the overall language standard of the population of Hong Kong.
Ends/Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Issued at HKT 19:18
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