SED visits Islands District (with photos)
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Accompanied by the District Officer (Islands), Mr Anthony Li, Mr Yeung first visited the IDC to exchange views with its chairman, Mr Chow Yuk-tong, and other members on education and other district issues.
Then he called at the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Tung Chung Integrated Services in Fu Tung Estate, Tung Chung. Established in 1997, the centre aims to serve children, young people, families, elderly people and new immigrants with services including guidance, healthcare, rehabilitation, training, employment and counselling.
In addition to touring the centre's facilities and learning more about its services, Mr Yeung also took the opportunity to chat with its clients, including students and parents of students with special educational needs (SEN), about their studies and service requirements.
Mr Yeung said, "The Government attaches great importance to the whole-person development of students. The Chief Executive has proposed in her 2018 Policy Address to provide a new recurrent Life-wide Learning Grant with an annual provision of $900 million, starting from the 2019/20 school year. The Grant will support public sector schools and schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme to take forward, on the present foundation, life-wide learning with enhanced efforts through organising more out-of-classroom experiential learning activities.
"For example, activities like field studies and workplace experience can enable students to learn in real-life contexts and broaden their horizons. Community service can also help develop students' care for others and empathy. We trust that the enlivened and enriched learning experiences will not only enhance students' interest in learning, but also help them develop positive values and attitudes."
The Government will enhance its efforts to provide support for students with SEN. Starting from the 2019/20 school year, an additional funding of $800 million per year will be offered to schools so that they can acquire more resources and teaching staff, as well as professionals like educational psychologists and speech therapists, who will provide more comprehensive support services for students with SEN.
Mr Yeung expressed the hope that with the concerted efforts of the Government, schools and social welfare organisations to improve their services, children and young people with different talents will be better supported to grow healthily, unleash their potential and contribute to the community.
Ends/Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Issued at HKT 17:10
Issued at HKT 17:10
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