THE recent controversy surrounding a request by a pre-vocational school to delete the word ''pre-vocational'' in its English name has enlivened the concern of many over the system of pre-vocational education in Hong Kong.
While this re-naming bid has been turned down by the Government because of the obvious need to uphold the original objectives of pre-vocational training, doubts are looming large in the eyes of the educators that the present provision of pre-vocational education may have been outmoded by the continuing changes in the territory's economy and the educational expectations of parents and students.
In their earliest days some 20 years ago, it was envisaged that the bulk of pre-vocational pupils would, after three years of pre-vocational education from primary six, go into various trades at the legal employment age of 14 (later revised to 15) or enter approved apprenticeship schemes with associated training in a technical institute at the craft level.
Thus, a school may be classified as pre-vocational only if the curriculum includes about 40 per cent of technical, commercial and practical subjects for Secondary (S) 1 to 3, and about 60 per cent general subjects.
The technical and practical content is reduced to about 30 per cent in S4 and 5. The technical group includes subjects like woodwork, light metalwork, engine studies, air-conditioning and refrigeration, printing, textiles, fashion and clothing.
At present, there are 23 pre-vocational schools with a total enrolment of 20,000. They are supposed to offer an alternative form of secondary education tailoring for students with an aptitude for practical and technical studies.
The enrolment statistics provided by some pre-vocational educators have painted a far less rosy picture than the Government does regarding the popularity of pre-vocational training in Hong Kong.