(3) Subsidized schools, which are those schools in receipt of a subsidy from Government under the Subsidy Code;
(4) Military schools and certain others which are exempted from the provisions of the Education Ordinance, 1913;
(5) All other private schools.
The principal medium of instruction in vernacular schools is Cantonese, and a small number of schools teach in Hakka and Mandarin (Kuo-yu), the latter being a compulsory subject in Govern- ment vernacular schools. In Anglo-Chinese and British schools the medium of instruction is English, with Mandarin as a compulsory subject in Anglo-Chinese schools.
Vernacular schools, in which English may be studied as a language subject, have adopted the Chinese system of dividing a 12-year school course, into 6 years of primary and 6 years of secondary or middle school. Attempts are being made to develop post- secondary education, other than that given at the teachers' training colleges, in order to provide higher education for those students who used to proceed to Chinese Universities. Anglo-Chinese schools are organized on the basis of an 8-year course at the end of which students sit for either the Hong Kong School Certificate examination or the University matriculation. In 1950 there were 570 entrants for the former, the regulations and syllabus of which were revised and brought up to date.
British schools are somewhat similar to their counterparts in England. Junior schools accept children from the age of 5, and give infant and primary school education. The King George V School in Kowloon provides secondary education up to the level of the Cambridge Overseas School Certificate. Children under 11 whose parents are in one of the three Services normally attend military schools.
There are 20 Grant Schools, some of which are boarding schools. All of them give primary education and the majority have secondary classes as well. They are administered under a system of grants- in-aid started in 1873 and subsequently revised several times, the latest revision being in 1945. The present arrangement is that after the Education Department has approved a grant school's annual expenditure the Government provides the school with financial aid to cover those running costs which are not met from tuition fees. Grants are also made to cover 50% of the cost of any new equipment or building which may be approved. A grant-aided school which owns its own buildings may be given a building depreciation grant to replace old structures, and interest-free loans normally repayable in ten years may be made for new buildings. Recently three schools have received loans totalling $1,000,000, for the provision of gymnasia, libraries and new classrooms. Under the terms of the Grant Code the salaries of local teachers are the same as those of teachers with similar qualifications in Government schools, teachers with approved British, American or Commonwealth qualifications receiving salaries on an augmented Burnham scale, irrespective of race or nationality. The number of children attending these schools has risen from 12,000
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