VOLUNTARY agencies running induction programmes for immigrant children from China are facing problems recruiting teachers and designing teaching materials.
They have called for more government funding and guidance for the four-week programme for children aged between six and 15 who have been in Hong Kong for less than six months.
A total of $4 million has been earmarked for the programme for 1995-96.
Jessie Leung Yu Oi-see of the Tung Fok Child Development Centre, which is one of the 18 agencies conducting the courses, said that more resources were needed.
'The subsidy for administrative costs covers expenses like rent and electricity bills but not the teaching materials or exercises for students,' said Ms Leung, who is in charge of the centre.
The director of the New Territories' Assembly of God Church, Chung Lap-boon, who is also trying to provide courses for the children, complained that the funding was not enough to provide proper educational facilities.
The Education Department requires the administrative cost of running the programme should not exceed 40 per cent of the total. The rest should cover teachers' salaries.
