AN additional 2,000 primary school teachers will be added to the teaching pool this September if the first batch of candidates holding overseas qualifications pass a new local teacher assessment scheme. Hundreds of secondary school teachers are likely to join the career next year when they are tested in the second assessment. The assessment of non-graduate teacher qualifications, tailored for people holding qualifications from countries outside the British Commonwealth like China and Taiwan, is aimed at solving the acute manpower shortage problem in schools. Candidates who pass the assessment will be qualified as a non-graduate teacher in primary and junior secondary schools. The 16-member committee for the assessment scheme met for the first time recently to discuss the details. The first test will be given in May. The committee has apparently decided that the first assessment should be focused on primary school teachers because of the high demand. Assessment for secondary school teachers will not be held until next year because of limited time and resources. Although no limit has been set on the number of candidates, the committee estimates that the first test will accommodate more than 2,000 people. If there are too many candidates, priority will be given to those with teaching experience or professional training. The committee has proposed that the assessment be divided into three parts to test the candidate's professional subject knowledge, language ability and basic education understanding, with each part not taking more than two-and-a-half hours. Part I: Candidates can choose to be tested in any two subjects in their majors, including non-academic subjects like Arts and Music. Part II: This session will concentrate on language ability. Candidates can choose to take oral and written tests in Chinese or English or both. The content will be on general knowledge. Part III: Knowledge on education theories will be tested. Candidates in this session who have not received previous training on basic teaching skills are required to attend a one-year on-job training course. Candidates who pass all three parts of the assessment test will be supervised during the first year of their teaching to guarantee standard and ability. Application information and other details will be announced in March. The committee, chaired by Mr Lucas Chan Kwok-hei, Senior Assistant Director of Education, comprises representatives from the Education Department, Hongkong Examinations Authority, universities, colleges of education and primary schools.