The expenditure on education during the year 1948 was H.K.$13,500,000, nearly four million dollars greater than in 1947. The increase was largely due to salary revision not only in Goverment but also in grant-aided schools and of the total amount over seven million dollars were allotted to grants and subsidies.
In the
In the absence of any census it is difficult to estimate the number of children of school age in Hong Kong who are not receiving any education. On the basis of the figures given in the last census and assuming the population of the Colony to be 1,800,000 there should be about 225,000 children between the ages of 5 and 12 of whom 120,000 are at present in school. present conditions it is likely that the number of temporary residents will increase. It is probable, however, that of the bona-fide residents of Hong Kong there are
not many whose children are not receiving education. In Government and subsidized schools preference is given to the children of such citizens but it is not possible to enforce such a rule in the private schools.
Following reports from the Medical Officer of Schools and the Heads of schools and having regard to the supply of food available to the Colony, it was decided to discontinue the supply of free milk to children between the
of ages 5
The and 8. manufacture of vitaminized biscuits however was continued and these can still be obtained on payment.
average
is
Education in Hong Kong is generally not free, but 10% of the pupils in Government schools are awarded free places, and The scholarships are awarded to the top pupil in each class. fees in Government schools are $5 per month for primary and $10 per month for secondary classes. This is approximately on the same level as the charge for instruction in the grant-aided schools where fees are generally on the scale $6-$12 per month. The are less subsidized schools charge $8 per month; rural schools expensive, fees ranging from $1 to $5. The highest fees in the Colony are charged in the private schools where the $15 per month, but this does not in all cases necessarily represent the total cost of education, as additional charges are also often made for "extras". One unhappy result of the great demand for education which is evident among all classes of the population is that it has opened a way for the charging of exhorbitant fees because the number of applicants exceeds the school accommoda- tion available. This has to some extent been counteracted by the opening of free evening classes and by keeping the fees of Government, grant-aided and subsidized schools as near to their pre-war level as is economically possible. A further step towards
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