雙語社評齊齊聽

英語 (足本收聽)

普通話 (足本收聽)

【明報專訊】From this school year far fewer students will begin to attend secondary school. Some schools will be closed, and some teachers, made redundant. That has caused much concern among teachers. We gather that the Education Bureau (EDB) is planning to take a number of measures to reduce the impact this situation may have on schools and teachers, and educators are trying to find remedies. In dealing with this issue, the authorities must first and foremost ensure the effective employment of resources. It is proper for and responsible of the EDB not to pledge not to "kill" any schools.

英語

本學年起，全港升中生銳減，殺校和超額教師問題備受教育界關注，據知，教育局準備推出一些措施，減低對學校和教師的衝擊，教育界也尋思解救之道。關於此事的處理，必須以有效使用資源為大前提，教育局不承諾「零殺校」，是恰當而負責任的做法。

普通話

We gather that the EDB's newest way to cope with this problem is to require schools to cut classes. There are 120 secondary schools that have each fewer than 30 classrooms and five secondary one classes. Each of them will have to cut one secondary one class. About 4,000 students will have to be assigned to other schools. As a school that admits 61 new students will have three secondary one classes, the measure will save 65 secondary schools from closure. The EDB will take three other measures. It will merge schools that fail to meet the minimum requirement - fails to admit 61 new students, develop network schools (allow two schools in the same district jointly to offer new senior secondary courses if each of them admits only 42 new students and has only two secondary one classes) and develop special schools (allow schools to survive that offer approved special courses). By taking this four-pronged approach, the government should be able to solve the problem.

英語

據知，教育局最新應對之法是強制縮班，要求課室不足30個、仍然開足5班的120間中學，一律縮減1班，這樣可以釋出約4000名升中生，分流到其他中學。以61人「開班線」計算，這個安排可以使65間學校免遭殺校；另外還有3項措施，即是合併學校（把兩間收生不足3班61人的學校合併）、發展網絡學校（同區兩間僅能開2班42人的中學，可聯校開辦新高中課程）、特色學校（中學可發展具特色的課程，獲批准學校可豁免殺校），四管齊下，應該可以解決問題。

普通話

The package the government will introduce is likely to strike a proper balance between various stakeholders' interests. Still, principals and teachers seek to gain more. For example, most of the members of the Hong Kong Association of Heads of Secondary Schools (which is to meet today) support the idea of requiring crowded schools to cut classes. The body will propose cutting the class size further from 34 to 30. It is reckoned that, if the government adopts its proposal, there will be 300 more classes. Furthermore, the Professional Teachers' Union (PTU) is trying to talk the EDB into allowing schools to have small classes instead of "killing" them. The proposal of the Hong Kong Association of Heads of Secondary Schools would further narrow the narrow gates of schools that are popular among parents, who would raise objections. As for what the PTU calls small-class teaching, it would be of dubious efficiency and would waste public money.

英語

當局將推出的方案，雖云已在持份者利益之間，尋找了相對合理的平衡點，但是教學界中人仍然企圖爭取更多利益。例如中學校長會今開會，普遍支持擠迫校縮班，並將提倡把每班34人標準，進一步降至30人，估計可額外為學校增加300班。另外，教協「不殺校、小班教學」的訴求，與教育局周旋。中學校長會的建議，會使一些受歡迎學校的窄門更形狹窄，家長對此會有反彈。至於教協的小班教學，則是耗費更多公帑，而且效率成疑。

普通話

A secondary school may have three secondary one classes if it meets the minimum requirement - admits 61 new students. If they are evenly distributed, it will have two secondary one classes of 20 and one of 21. Such a class size is already quite small. A school will only have itself to blame for its closure if it fails to admit such a small number of new students though there are EDB measures designed to help schools out. There is another important point - that small classes do not necessarily receive small-class teaching. Some international schools have adopted small-class teaching, as have some schools that have adopted the IB programme. However, their teachers have received necessary training, and they have the many required support facilities. If neither its teachers nor its facilities are up to standard, a school's "small-class teaching" will only be nominal. It would only be a political tool. The government would waste education resources if it permitted such "small-class teaching".

英語

現在一間中學，只要收取61名學生的「開班線」，就可以開3班，若平均分配，即2班20人、1班21人，這個人數，其實就是「小班」，若一間學校連「小班」的人數，在教育局多項措施協助下仍然無法收足，則這樣的學校最終被殺，也與人無尤。其次，還有一點很重要的，就是縱使「小班」上課，也不一定就是小班教學。以現在國際學校或是IB課程而言，他們的小班教學，除了教師受過必要訓練，還有其他許多配套設施，若教師和設施都不符合要求的所謂「小班」教學，是有名無實的小班教學，只是淪為政治服務的工具，實質上浪費教育資源。

普通話

There are organisations of teachers and schools in the SAR. The PTU, which is the most influential independent trade union in Hong Kong, is one of them. Their interests do not always coincide with parents' and students'. Schools and teachers may use "working for students' interests" as a pretext. The government's package of measures to save schools from closure is in students' interests. It does not use up large amounts of resources. We therefore take the view that the EDB should not bow to schools' or trade unions' pressure. It ought to adhere to what is good. It should sensibly and temperately solve the problem mainly by requiring schools to cut classes.

英語

學校和教師都有組織，其中教協更是全港最具實力的獨立工會，然而，有些時候他們爭取的利益，不一定與家長和學生的利益完全一致，「為學生而謀」可能會成為學校和教師的借口。關於中學縮班、殺校的處理，當局的方案符合學生利益，也毋須多耗用資源，所以，我們認為教育局不應屈從學校和工會的壓力，應該擇善固執，以強制縮班為主軸，爭取平和合理地解決問題。

普通話

明報社評 2010.09.08

Presented by lecturers of Hong Kong Community College, PolyU and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Zoe Lam, Lecturer, Hong Kong Community College

http://www.hkcc-polyu.edu.hk/index.php?lang=eng&cms=929

周文駿，香港專上學院講師

http://www.hkcc-polyu.edu.hk/index.php?cms=651&lang=big5

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