Chapter 8: Education
THE rapid progress made in education in Hong Kong since the war may be measured in the following figures. In 1945, on the liberation of the Colony, there were 4,000 pupils in schools. Three years later the number had risen to 18,000. In 1954 it was 249,177, and in September 1958, 418,546.
The number of schools (including kindergarten and post- secondary) and total enrolment on 30th September 1958 were as follows:
No. of
Enrolment
Schools
% of Enrolment
No. of Teachers
Government Schools
65
51,333
12.3
1,306
Grant-aided Schools
20
18,772
4.5
=728
Subsidized Schools
378
108,985
26.0
3,250
Private Schools
885
224,215
53.6
8,050
Special Afternoon Classes
15,241
· 3.6
Total
1,348
418,546
100.0
13,334
If this table is compared with that in Chapter 8 of last year's report, it will be seen that while the percentage of pupils accom- modated in private schools has fallen slightly, the private schools are still responsible for over half the total enrolment and represent some 65% of all schools in Hong Kong. Since private schools, i.e. schools which do not receive Government aid under either the Grant or Subsidy Code, also tend to charge higher fees than government or government-aided schools, their numerical predomi- nance in the educational system clearly illustrates the very great continuing public demand in the Colony for education, even at a high cost.
School Expansion Programme. The Government seven-year plan for the expansion of primary education, instituted late in 1954 with the aim of providing by the end of 1961 places for all children of primary school age, made good progress during the year. The present target figure is 33,000 new places each year. During the