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(F) THE FIGURE FOR 1966-67 IS THAT FOR THE FORMER TECHNICAL COLLEGE.
THE POLYTECHNIC WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1972 AND TOOK OVER THE WORK OF
TECHNICAL COLLEGE.
3. STEWART'S LETTER OF 7 MARCH WILL BE DISCUSSED AT HIS MEETING
WITH TOPLEY ON 24 MARCH. BRIEFLY, THERE IS NO SHORTFALL IN PROVISION
OF JUNIOR SECONDARY PLACES. FORM I PLACES WILL BE PROVIDED IN SEPTEMBER 1978 FOR ALL PRIMARY 6 LEAVERS, AND THESE CHILDREN WILL PROGRESS TO FORM 11 IN 1979-80 AND FORM 111 IN 1980-81. IT IS THEREFORE ONLY IN 1980-81 THAT 100% PROVISION REACHES THE FORM 111
LEVEL AND THAT FULL DEMAND IS MET OVER THE WHOLE FORM 1-111 RANGE.. THIS IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH WHITE PAPER POLICY AS ADVANCED BY ONE YEAR IN THE 1976 BUDGET SPEECH.
4. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ON THE VARIOUS SCHEMES FOR FINANCIAL
ASSISTANCE MAY ALSO BE USEFUL FOR SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS:
A. STUDENT FINANCE SCHEME
THERE ARE A LARGE NUMBER OF SCHOLARSHIPS AND BURSARIES AT HKU AND CUHK TO HELP UNDERGRADUATES WITH THE COST OF THEIR EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITIES. HOWEVER, IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT NO STUDENT WHO IS OFFERED A UNIVERSITY PLACE SHOULD BE UNABLE TO ACCEPT IT BECAUSE OF LACK OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES, GOVERNMENT INTRODUCED IN MAY 1969 A STUDENT FINANCE SCHEME. UNDER WHICH PUBLIC FUNDS ARE MADE AVAILABLE FOR GRANTS AND INTEREST-FREE LOANS FOR NEEDY STUDENTS. THE AMOUNT AWARDED IS BASED ON AN ASSESSMENT OF NEED ACCORDING TO THE STUDENTS' FAMILY CIRCUMSTANCES: A STUDENT WHO IS AWARDED MAXIMUM ASSISTANCE WILL RECEIVE A GRANT OF DOLLARS 2,620 TOWARDS ACADEMIC EXPENSES AND A LOAN OF DOLLARS 4,000 P.A. TO MEET LIVING EXPENSES. IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 1976/77, 4,180 STUDENTS RECEIVED GRANTS TOTALLING DOLLARS 6.2 MILLION AND 5,127 STUDENTS WERE GIVEN LOANS TOTALLING DOLLARS 18.5 MILLION. THESE FIGURES SHOW THAT OVER 60% OF THE WHOLE STUDENT POPULATION AT THE UNIVERSITIES WERE ASSISTED UNDER THE STUDENT FINANCE SCHEME.
GOVERNMENT HAS RECENTLY APPROVED A SCHEME OF GRANTS AND LOANS TO STUDENTS ON FULL-TIME COURSES AT THE POLYTECHNIC WITH EFFECT FROM THE ACADEMIC YEAR 1976/77. THIS SCHEME IS MODELLED ON THE
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/UNIVERSITIES'