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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
and for lepers and orphanages, and homes for maladjusted children, while the Po Leung Kuk provides free schooling for the homeless young women and children in its care. (See also Chapter 11).
Other agencies which contribute to the educational effort include the Y.M.C.A., Y.W.C.A., the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association, the Children's Playground Association, the Boy Scouts' and Girl Guides' Associations and the Rotary Clubs.
In co-operation with the Social Welfare Department, the Educa- tion Department works closely with voluntary agencies of this kind. The Department is represented at the meetings of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service and on the Mental Health Associa- tion of Hong Kong. It is also closely associated with the Medical and Health Department in the sphere of health education, and, in the professional sphere, with the Hong Kong Teachers' Association. Libraries are maintained by the British Council, the United States Information Service, the local Chambers of Commerce, a number of Government departments including the Education Department and the University of Hong Kong; access to the University and official libraries is restricted. Books, pamphlets, journals and visual-aid material are distributed by the Information Services Department, the British Council, various consular authori- ties and commercial agencies. The British Council, whose activities are described further in Chapter 20, administers certain post- graduate scholarship awards and gives advice and assistance to students intending to take courses in the United Kingdom.
In the educational scene, three main problems confront all interested bodies, public or private: a swollen population, due both to the influx of persons from China and to the high rate of natural increase; the scarcity of new school sites in a small and highly developed territory; and the problem of obtaining sufficient qualified teachers.
Expenditure on Education. A brief summary of expenditure by the Education and other Departments from August 1958 to July 1959 is given on next page.