EDUCATION
57
There has been a steady increase in the number of pupils enrolled in all types of secondary schools operated during the day. In September there were 299,648 such students, compared with 279,483 in the previous year. During the school year 16,700 new secondary places were provided in new school buildings. Furthermore, a total of 87,804 pupils entered the first year of secondary school. This represents the pro- motion of 79.2 per cent of the pupils completing primary school. Of these pupils, 40.5 per cent were awarded government, government-aided or assisted places.
The government's declared aim is to provide three years of aided secondary education for all children in the 12-14 age group seeking it. This will require a sub- stantial programme of expansion, and every effort is being made to achieve the interim target of providing places for 50 per cent of the age group by 1976. Within this figure and by the same date, provision will be made for 18-20 per cent of the 12-16 age group to proceed to aided courses leading to a Certificate of Education. The long-term aim is to double the provision of five-year courses offering secondary education in government and aided schools.
The extra school places to be found in Forms I-III under this new policy will be provided either directly in government or aided schools, or in private non-profit- making schools which will be assisted for the purpose, or by buying places in suitable private profit-making schools. For 1973-4 22,445 pupils have been awarded three- year assisted places on the results of the Secondary School Entrance Examination, to be taken up in various private non-profit-making and private profit-making secondary schools.
Post-secondary Education
There are a number of day and evening schools offering courses of varying stand- ards at post-secondary level. These schools do not receive aid from the government and their courses are mainly conducted in Chinese.
The Hong Kong Baptist College, on a site granted by the government, was registered under the Post-secondary Colleges Ordinance in March 1970, which recog- nises a status below that of a university institution, but above a secondary school. It has four faculties-arts, business, natural sciences and engineering, and social sciences. A college will be registered under this ordinance only when the Director of Education is satisfied of the academic standards of the institution, its governing body, legal status, finances, educational facilities and constitution or instruments of government.
Higher Education
A scheme of student financing, under which public funds are made available for grants and interest-free loans to needy students at the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, was introduced by the government in 1969-70 The administration of grants totalling $2.84 million and loans totalling $10.60 million for 1973-4 is in the hands of a joint universities' committee. The scheme presented a substantial increase in the amount of public funds available for student financing and aimed to ensure that students offered a place in either of the two universities should not be prevented, through lack of means, from accepting the offer.