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Evaluations supplied by teachers, questionnaires, seminars, visits to
schools by ETV producers and inspectors, and reports from members of the
Advisory Inspectorate have resulted in many improvements to ETV since
its inception in 1971.
Physical standards
7.21
In terms of purely physical provision, there are wide differences
in the quality of Hong Kong schools. All government schools are built to
agreed standards and include sufficient special rooms and equipment to
ensure adequate facilities for a well-rounded curriculum. As may be
expected in a tightly-packed territory like Hong Kong there is insufficient
land to provide schools with individual outdoor sports facilities, but
all schools have access to shared facilities within reasonable reach of
the school premises: these are provided by means of a booking system by
the Urban Services Department. Non-government schools in the public sector
vary in physical standards. While all must meet specified standards in
order to qualify for financial assistance, some are more richly endowed
than others in various ways for example, in land acquired over a period
of time, or in such facilities as swimming pools and well-stocked libraries,
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provided in some cases by parent-teacher associations.
Private schools
vary even more, but the very poorly equipped private independent schools
which were a feature of the system when there were insufficient public-
sector places for primary and junior secondary pupils are now less in
evidence, though some are likely to remain so long as social demand for
an 'academic' education at senior secondary level exceeds supply. Some
private independent schools are well equipped and are able to attract
well-qualified teachers and pupils willing and able to pay relatively
high fees for senior secondary and sixth-form courses. A greater number
of schools in the public sector would include practical and technical
subjects in their curricula if they had sufficient space. In order to
assist such schools, and generally to encourage a wider interest in