THE Government should get tough on secondary schools ignoring the Education Department's push to use Chinese for teaching in the coming academic year, educators said.
Assistant Director of Education David Pun Wang-keung said 42 of the 148 schools advised to use Chinese have indicated they will not switch from English. This compares with 36 of 140 opting to stay with English this year.
Only 51 schools will teach in Chinese as advised, with the remaining 55 using either language depending on subjects or class requirements, even though the number of Chinese schools will increase from 45 to 62.
Mr Pun said the department was encouraging schools 'to follow our advice to switch'.
He said: 'Language is the key to open the door of knowledge and undoubtedly schools in Hong Kong should choose the right key for students. Otherwise, their academic progress would be affected.' Board of Education chairman Dr Tam Man-kwan said a report on the effectiveness of mother-tongue education would be ready in 1997 at the end of a 55-school study.
The Education Department expects the research will prove the importance of mother-tongue education.
Dr Tam said schools ignoring the advice to switch to Chinese should show concrete proof that their students were able to maintain good academic results.
