A REVOLUTIONARY scheme to improve children's learning has had to be put on hold because schools are not ready, it was announced yesterday.
Director of Education Mr Dominic Wong Shing-wah said the concept of the targets and target-related assessments (TTRA) was well known and supported, but he acknowledged that its introduction would have been too rushed.
About 85,000 children in Primary Four should have started the TTRA scheme, which aims to improve learning by allowing individuals to progress at their own pace, next month. But the compulsory introduction to schools has been put on indefinite hold.
Professor Rosie Young Tse-tse, chairman of the Education Commission which proposed TTRA, welcomed Mr Wong's decision.
But teachers said schools should introduce the scheme only when they were ready.
An advisory committee is to be set up next month to propose solutions to problems highlighted by an Education Department review of the current TTRA pilot and to plan a firm timetable for implementation.
Among the complaints voiced to the review team were: A need for more intensive teacher training; A need for additional manpower and equipment; Absence of concrete guidelines on how to carry out the assessments; An unrealistic timetable for implementation, particularly starting in the middle of a school year.