TOUGHER inspections of schools, due to begin in September, will put them under unnecessary pressure, educationists said.
The move was an over-reaction to an Education Commission proposal to set up a unit independent of the Education Department to help improve school quality.
Some commission members said more inspections would interfere with the operation of schools and asked the department to consult schools first.
Inspections of schools' teaching methods, administration, counselling and their accounts are carried out by different departmental divisions at various times.
But, under the new system, department assistant director Ho Che-leung said, inspectors would visit a school for about two weeks, covering all aspects.
Forty primary and 20 secondary schools would be picked for a one-year trial starting in September. The long-term target was to inspect 20 per cent of the 400 secondary and 600 primary schools a year.
