12.4
The total capital cost of the above proposals is not likely to exceed $12m and the annual recurrent cost after full implementation would not be likely to exceed $8m.
12.5
The steps that may need to be taken to improve language teaching in Hong Kong and bring existing schools wherever possible up to current planning standards may also have substantial financial implications.
12.6
Proposals have been made to modify resource class teaching. However, the costs are not likely to exceed those already envisaged in the Rehabilitation Programme Plan.
12.7
It has been pointed out that the proposal to regard non-profit-making kindergartens in the same way as other welfare services for the renting of accommodation in Housing Estates could result in a loss of annual revenue to the Housing Authority and clearly this cannot be ignored in assessing the costs of the proposals.
12.8
It should be noted that the cost of implementing the staff require- ments due to an enhanced staffing ratio in schools and the change of class size can only be estimated approximately. The actual cost must depend on the extent to which population movements from older areas to the new towns leads to temporarily unfilled schools or classes.
12.9
In item 1 of the Financial Implications table following, the cost of the financial assistance scheme does not include subsidies granted to families which are below the public assistance level as these are included in the Social Security Programme. However, the cost of the subvention to Special Child Care Centres, and the cost of subventing ordinary Child Care Centres which admit disabled children are both included, although these costs will be absorbed into the Rehabilitation Programme.
12.10
The table of Financial Implications following sets out the costs of implementing the proposals contained in this Green Paper which are additional to the costs which would be incurred if existing policy were followed as closely as possible. This principle is particularly applicable to the costing of item 10 (the increase of the staffing ratio to 1.15:1) where it has been assumed that the present class size would be regularized in stages to the currently approved level of 45. The costing of item 11 is the additional cost of regularising the class size instead to 35 for schools adopting the 'learning- by-doing' approach and 40 for others. However, in practice, if the class size were retained at its present average level rather than increased to 45 the total cost could be almost the same as the total given in the table. In other words the implementation of class sizes of 35 and 40 as proposed does not cost more than retaining the existing class sizes. It should also be noted that in item 11 account has been taken of the effect of the proposed reduced repetition
rates.
12.11
The figures in the Financial Implications table are based on financial years and in places differ slightly from the costs quoted in the text which are, where appropriate, based on the school year. The costs set out in the table are primarily recurrent costs except for Item 10 where the figures for 1981/82 include an element of $1.5m for capital non-recurrent expenditure.
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