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HKIEd steps up battle to retain arts, sport places

Staff and students at the Hong Kong Institute of Education yesterday stepped up their campaign against a plan to stop admitting music, visual arts and physical education students to secondary programmes from next year.

'The Education and Manpower Bureau has given us no reason, no explanation. They simply say it is due to an oversupply of teachers,' said Eliza Au Kit-oi, co-ordinator of the institute's Zero Quota Concern Group. 'But with the introduction of the new senior secondary curriculum, arts, music and physical education teachers will be in great demand.'

She told an audience of 300 institute students and academics: 'We want to encourage organisations, schools and people in the field to write to the University Grants Committee to complain against this irrational decision.'

Last month, Bernard Luk Hung-kay, the Tai Po teacher training institute's academic vice-president, said he believed the move was a direct result of its managers' resistance to government attempts to curb the academic freedom of staff.

The allegations of interference prompted the chief executive to appoint a commission of inquiry.

The Education and Manpower Bureau notified the institute of the proposed cut in June last year, in a 'start letter' outlining the bureau's recommendations for intake numbers in 2008.

The cut has yet to be approved by the University Grants Committee.

This year's intake includes 20 places on visual arts and music programmes for secondary educators and 10 for physical education - half the number in the 2004-2005 academic year.

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