3
Subject
Purpose
Dispute at the Precious Blood Golden Jubilee Secondary
School
To resolve the dispute satisfactorily.
ter tan
$
Progress made and present position
On 6th July 1978, the Finance Committee approved the abolition of tuition fees in junior secondary forms. However, the proposals to take over tong fai and similar charges in Government and aided schools, to waive outstanding loans as well as other consequential proposals were deferred, but they will be brought forward again in respect of September 1979, when the first stage of compulsory junior secondary education takes effect. The Education Department has advised all schools that tuition fees for Forms I to III should not be collected (except in English- speaking schools) and that tong fai and similar charges for all forms at the approved rate may be collected during the academic year 1978/79.
During May the series of protests and demonstra tions by students and certain teachers, in defiance of school authority, escalated to a. point where the Director of Education considered it necessary to issue a closure order on 14th May. This decision was endorsed by the Governor in-Council on 16th May, who instructed that a Committee of Inquiry should be established to look into the affair and to recommend measures to be taken to avoid a recurrence of a similar state of affairs. The Committee of Inquiry submitted an Interim Report on 1st July, the recommendations in which were accepted by the Governor-in-Council on 4th July; these included the recommendation that a second school should be established to accommodate those students who chose not to attend the new school to be run by
"Next quarter targets
To consider the present- ation and timing of a further approach to Finance Committee on the deferred proposals.
To continue to monitor press and public opinion on the controversy and
CONFIDENTIAL
to respond to the findings in the Committee of
Inquiry's Final Report, when this is received.
機密
CONFIDENTIAL
機密