Chapter 8: Education
SINCE 1946 the total number of children at school has risen from about 60,000 to nearly 300,000 and the number of schools to 1,200. Some indication of the general pattern of education is afforded by the tables facing pp. 116-117 which illustrate the increase in pupils and schools in the Colony during the past 10 years.
From these tables it will be seen that at present over 60% of all pupils are being educated in private schools, and that these schools in turn represent some 66% of all schools in the Colony. Since private schools, i.e. schools which do not receive government subvention under either the Grant or Sub- sidy Code, also tend to charge higher fees than government or government-aided schools their numerical predominance in the educational system clearly illustrates the very great continuing public demand in the Colony for education even at a high cost. It should incidentally be noted that the very big expansion of private schools has been rendered possible only by the adaptation of buildings designed for other pur- poses and by the employment of large numbers of untrained teachers. On the other hand almost all government schools occupy buildings specifically designed for such use and all the teachers are qualified.
The number of schools (including kindergarten and post- secondary) and total enrolment on 30th June, 1956, were as follows:
Government Schools
No. of
Enrolment
Schools
No. of Teachers
46
24,547
767
Grant-aided Schools
20
16,160
652
Subsidized Schools
346
64,802
2,260
Private Schools
788
171,899
8,771
Special Afternoon Classes ..
21,201
Total:
1,200
298,609
12,450