The Jockey Club has initiated a five-year programme to help students with specific learning difficulties - such as dyslexia - with an endowment of more than HK$153 million.
The programme, conceived by the Jockey Club, has been steered by the University of Hong Kong in collaboration with Chinese University, the Education and Manpower Bureau, the Society of Boys' Centres and the Heep Hong Society.
Specific learning difficulties refer to a group of disorders caused not by a lack of intelligence but by neurological developments affecting basic learning functions, such as reading. Between 9.7 and 12.6 per cent of students in Hong Kong experience such learning difficulties, with dyslexia accounting for more than 80 per cent of cases.
The programme comprises several elements, including research, development and production of assessment and screening tools, and the training of Chinese language teachers at primary schools. It also covers the provision of school-based and district-based support for pre-school and primary school children, the development of resources and learning packages in Chinese for secondary schools, and public education.
Visiting professorships will also be established where overseas experts will be able to advise and evaluate the project, and run seminars and workshops while in residence.
Iris Keung Wai-lin, chairwoman of the Association for Special Learning Disabilities, said the programme had not paid enough attention to supporting parents.
