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- A9 -
i
1965 White Paper: Education Policy
7.
In reviewing education policy the 1965 White Paper took into
account three documents: (i) a Paper, Statement on Government's Policy
on the Reorganisation of the Structure of Primary and Secondary Education,
presented to the Legislative Council in January 1963; (ii) the Renort of
the Education Commission, October 1963; (iii) the Report of a second
Working Party which examined the recommendations of the Education Commission
together with the recommendations of an earlier Working Party on the
provision of education for English-speaking children. The White Paper
endeavoured to draw the whole of these deliberations together and to
present them, with such observations and modifications as appeared
necessary or desirable, as a basis for planning the future development
of education in Hong Kong.
8.
The White Paper stated that the final aim of any educational
policy must always be to provide every child with the best education he
or she was capable of absorbing, at a cost that the parent and the
community could afford. Nowhere had this ideal been achieved and in
only a very few countries was there even the prospect of achieving it.
A less ambitions plan of providing a free primary education for all
who desired it had long been the aim of Hong Kong policy, and was now
re-affirmed but this was incapable of early achievement.
purposes, then, intermediate aims must be chosen.
For practical
The White Paner
accordingly summarised existing educational policy, reviewed the position
which had been reached by 1965 and proposed new intermediate aims up to
the level of full secondary education. It did not deal with post-secondary
education.
9.
Existing policy at that time was :
(a) to ensure that places were available in government, aided
or private primary schools for all children of primary
school age;