"SECONDARY
SCHOOLING IN THE 70s."
A report prepared by the
Association of Heads of Secondary
Schools on the educational needs of Hong Kong.
Introduction
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By 1971 the current expansion programme for primary education will have provided an aided school place for every child who requires one. With this in mind the Association of Heads of Secondary Schools has, for the last two years, been engaged in aiscussions on the future development of educational facilities.
It is the unanimous opinion of the Association that the Government should now set itself a new target, namely to provide for aided secondary education, at least to the age of employment, for every child by the year 1980.
Hong Kong's greatest asset is its manpower. Universal secondary education will raise the quality of this manpower and is thus imperative. Money spent on secondary education should be regarded as public investment in the future of Hong Kong.
Other areas of the Far East, in particular Japan, Singapore and Taiwan, have already seen the need for universal secondary education and have moved a considerable distance towards achieving it.
The Association realises that there are many problems to be solved before Hong Kong can achieve universal secondary education, but is convinced that an attempt at a solution must not be postponed.
Opinions differ among members of the Association as to the best way of achieving universal secondary education. A very large majority of the members, however, feel that the only way likely to achieve public acceptance lies in the creation of a new form of secondary schooling suitable for children of all abilities.
It is this idea which is developed in the remainder of this paper, which represents the majority views of the Association.
THE PRESENT SYSTEM
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In September 1967 there were 81,598 children in Class 6 in all types of primary school. In September 1968 some of these were able to continue their education at public expense: 2,619 in Government schools and 7,796 in aided schools following a five year course leading to the Certificate of Education. Another 1,664 children were assisted with fees in private schools to follow a similar course; while another 1,701 entered aided schools for a three year "modern" course. In other words rather less than 17% of children who began the last year of the primary course in 1967 were assisted with public funds to continue their education in 1968. The position in 1969 was slightly better largely because of a fall in the number of children completing the Primary course, In 1970, however, it might be substantially worse because of much larger numbers.
Each year, therefore, more than 80% of children receive no public provision for their further education and if they wish to continue in school they must enter one of the private secondary schools where, in general, fees are high.
This is in accord with the present stated policy which is to provide for between 15% and 20% of primary school leavers to receive five years of secondary education in Government or in aided schools.
The 15% to 20% chosen are given an academic education in "grammar" or in "technical" schools, for which they are selected by an academic test which takes place on one afternoon in the summer of the last year in primary school.
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