EXTRACT FROM
RECORD OF DISCUSSIONS WITH THE GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG
22-23 0 BER, 1968
(b) Communist Schools
2.
term.
In the view of the Governor this issue constituted the most difficult problem facing Hong Kong both in the short and long
It was, in fact, a more difficult problem than that of the communist press. Although public pressure for action to be taken against communist schools had abated, public apprehension caused by the recent expansion in the communist schools programme still remained. Expansion appeared to have reached its limit for the moment, but it would probably be renewed at the beginning of the next school year in September 1969. As regards the various measures which he had suggested for dealing with the situation, the Governor made the following points
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(i) The provision of additional non-communist schools would
not prevent more children from going to communist schools (although it was of course a desirable measure in itself in areas where educational facilities were inadequate). There was still a very considerable number of children not yet in school who, because their parents were either convinced communists or were for one reason or another subject to pressure from communist employers, etc.,
Conversely, would only be sent to communist schools. communist schools did not attract more than a handful of children from non-communist homes.
(ii)
(iii)
The education ordinance was already under review since it was deficient in certain respects and required strengthening; this would take at least a year to complete. There would always be a danger that once the ordinance had been strengthened, there might be a public demand for its provisions to be enforced specifically against communist schools to an extent that would be impolitic. But in view of present educational facilities in the Colony there was a clear case for tightening up generaly the criteria for registration. He proposed to introduce a system of provisional registration; this would rogularise present practice under which a school applying for registration is normally permitted to begin functioning on a provisional basis until it meets and satisfies the requirements for final registration. It is the requirements for final registration that would be drawn more strictly, i.e. in regard to buildings, content of cducation provided, quality of staff, etc.; these matters were largely laid down by administrative regulation.
The suggestion that the Director of Education might refuse any further applications for night primary schools was a very minor measure since such applications were extremely rare. The measure could, however, be justified on the grounds that an efficient and extensive adult education programme now existed.
f.a.
It was agreed that the Governor should continue to pursue the measures that he had put forward, consulting the department at appropriate stages and giving advance information of their application, Great care would have to be taken in the matter of their presentation. It was suggested that it might be advisable to provide in any revised legislation for provisional registration to lapse automatically after a given time unless final registration had previously been approved.
This would
avoid the need to take any formal steps to close a school which failed within the stipulated period to meet the requirements for final registration.
SECRET
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