92
EDUCATION
All other members are unofficial. The board met four times during
the year.
Government itself operates 102 primary and 18 secondary schools, built, equipped and operated from government funds. Financial aid in one form or another is also provided to three other types of schools: grant-in-aid, subsidized and private. The first two receive grants to make up deficiencies between approved income and expenditure. Private schools may also receive assistance by way of grants of land or by loan.
Grant schools, of which there are 22, mainly give secondary education and Government, under the Grant Code, may cover approved expenditure such as salaries and leave pay. Alternatively a block grant may be made. Grants of up to 50 per cent may also be made to meet the cost of new building, equipment and major repairs and interest-free loans may be made for approved new building projects.
Subsidized schools are mainly primary schools operating under the Subsidy Code. This, also, is on a deficiency basis enabling the schools to keep their fees low and to pay teachers the same salaries as government and grant school teachers of the same grade. The schools are assisted when necessary by free grants of land and building subsidies, and are eligible for interest-free loans for new buildings if their sponsoring bodies are incorporated. There are 230 subsidized schools in urban areas and 291 in the New Territories.
Private schools range from kindergarten through primary and secondary to post-secondary and fees are generally much higher than in government or aided schools. Non-profit-making private schools are eligible to receive grants of land. Additional measures of assistance were introduced in 1960. The period of repayment of loans was extended to 21 years, subject to interest being charged at 34 per cent per annum. Schools already in receipt of interest-free loans repayable over 11 years were given the choice of adopting these new terms for the outstanding balance of their loans. Recurrent financial help is also given to selected non-profit-making schools in the form of assistance towards the payment of the salaries of qualified teachers and an allowance based on the number of class- rooms in use. Students in some private secondary schools have also been assisted by payment of the difference between the approved fee of the school and the fee that would be charged in a comparable