ADOPTING the mother tongue as the medium of instruction does not mean English will be neglected nor does it suggest a decline in the standard of the language.
The Director of Education, Mr Dominic Wong Shing-wah, was anxious to clear a widespread misunderstanding among parents and students arising from his announcement of the Medium of Instruction Grouping Assessment for Secondary One Students. The scheme will be implemented this September.
Students entering Form One in September through the Secondary School Places Allocation system will be categorised into three groups according to their ability to learn in Chinese or English.
The grouping is based on students' internal examination results in the second term of Primary Five and the first term of Primary Six.
It was revealed that 33 per cent of students could be classified in the first group as being able to learn effectively in either Chinese or English.
Sixty per cent fell into the second group, for students who would learn more effectively in Chinese. The third group or the remaining seven per cent were seen as being able to learn better studying in Chinese, but would probably also be able to learn effectively in English.
Parents of Primary Six pupils would be given information about their children's language proficiency in terms of the three groupings. Being aware of their children's language ability would help parents make the appropriate decision.
