8
Education
A DAILY occurrence in Hong Kong, which never fails to impress the newcomer, is the regular surge of activity as more than three quarters of a million students stream in or out of their schools. With ground space at a premium, schoolbuildings must be used to capacity and may be occupied continuously in two sessions from eight a.m. until six p.m. In the evening too, the same schools may serve more children in an early evening session, or be used for evening classes or as adult recreation and training centres.
The number of pupils in every type of school continued to rise during 1963, particularly in primary schools where by the end of September the enrolment figure was 572,423. There are 810,632 pupils enrolled at all schools, colleges and education centres. This is 59,930 more than in 1962. Detailed figures are given in Appendix VI.
RE-ORGANIZATION OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
A statement of Government's policy on the re-organization of the structure of primary and secondary education was tabled in Legislative Council in January. The proposals for re-organization, previously endorsed by the Board of Education, were adopted. Initial changes affecting primary schools became operative in September but it will be some years before the re-organization is fully implemented. The normal age of entry into government and aided primary schools has been raised from six to seven years, and a new five-year course of primary education will gradually replace the existing six-year course. At least one and, as soon as practicable, two years of secondary education will be made available after the five-year primary course in order that pupils may continue their schooling up to the age of 14, which is the statutory minimum age for industrial employment. During the transitional period, on completion of the present six-year primary course, those pupils who are unable to gain admission