Your report headlined, 'Monitoring of learning materials under review' (South China Morning Post, June 22), alleged that 'education chiefs are considering tightening controls on what students learn'. The fact of the matter is at present publishers are required to submit textbooks to the Education Department for review before the titles may be included in the recommended book list. Schools have the responsibility of selecting textbooks which are appropriate to meet the needs of their students, and they may select textbooks from or outside the recommended list. With the introduction of information technology in education, the role of textbooks will change as teachers make more use of other forms of teaching/ learning resources, such as the Internet. We also encourage schools to adapt their curriculum to cater for individual learning differences. This is seen as part of school-based development. In view of these developments, the Board of Education considered it necessary for the Education Department to review its existing role in reviewing textbooks. A possible directional change may be for the Education Department to encourage users to monitor and report on the quality of textbooks. With regard to the proposal to encourage the development of research-based textbooks by tertiary institutions, the purpose is to enhance the effectiveness of learning. As education becomes more student-centred, it is necessary that teaching/ learning materials also move away from what we think students should know, but focus more on how students learn and how we can inspire and support learning. There is no pre-conceived idea as to how research-based textbooks are to be published. The Government firmly believes in a free market and the need to provide for choice. The concern about 'government trying to control people's thoughts' was, therefore, totally misplaced. Dr K. K. CHAN Chief Executive Curriculum Development Institute Education Department
