Wealth of resources: Secretary for Education & Manpower Prof Arthur Li and Permanent Secretary for Education & Manpower Fanny Law officially open the new Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre.

Secretary for Education & Manpower Prof Arthur Li encourages teachers to make the best use of resources available in the bureau's new Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre.

At the centre's opening today, Prof Li also announced an $8 million fund to help them prepare for academic reforms to be introduced in 2009. Under the so-called '334', there will be six years of secondary schooling, followed by four years of tertiary education.

He said details about the fund will be released next month. 

Located at 19 Suffolk Road next to the Kowloon Tong Station for the MTR and the KCR East Rail, the new five-storey, 13,900-square-metre teachers' complex includes the Hong Kong Teachers' Centre, a 400-seat lecture theatre, multi-purpose hall, and conference and activity rooms for teachers', parents' and students' use.

"The many facilities and resources in the centre are not only in support of teaching and learning, professional development for, and experience sharing by our teachers, they are also a valuable source of information on good parenting. I do hope our teachers will enjoy what the centre has to offer and believe they are set to benefit from training courses to be held in the centre in their preparation for '334' in the years to come," Prof Li said.

Wealth of teaching resources on offer

The centre's West Block houses the Central Resources Centre (http://www.emb.gov.hk/crc), stocked with information and resource materials on teaching and learning. The centre also houses sections providing such services as education psychology, careers guidance, school placement and special education.

During the opening ceremony, representatives from the Hong Kong Association for Computer Education and the Hong Kong Liberal Studies Teachers' Association shared their experiences in working with the Education & Manpower Bureau over the years.

Rehabilitated members from the New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association provided refreshments after the ceremony. They will operate the cafe at the centre, a move the bureau hopes will set an example for the school sector to follow in considering the award of contracts for cleaning or running school tuck shops.

For more details on '334', click here.