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EDUCATION
The institute offers craft and technician level courses on a full-time, block release, part-time day-release, and part-time evening basis. Short courses in specialised technical and commercial subjects are also provided. The evening class courses of preliminary and general studies enable students to qualify for technician courses either at Morrison Hill Technical Institute, the new technical institutes at Kwai Chung and Kwun Tong, or at the Polytechnic.
During the 1974-5 session, 77 courses were provided and about 14,000 students enrolled. Of these, approximately 800 were on full-time and block release courses, 1,600 on part-time day-release courses, and more than 11,000 on evening courses. Because of the large number of evening classes, the institute makes use of 20 external evening centres situated in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories.
In order to provide courses directly related to the changing needs of Hong Kong, the institute maintains close links with industry, commerce and the industrial training division of the Labour Department. As a result of the effort and co-operation of this division, and the encouraging response from industry, the institute has been able to provide part-time day-release training for both craft and technician apprentices in local industries. During 1974-5 the institute enrolled about 1,640 registered appren- tices sponsored by industry-some 20 per cent more than the previous year.
The buildings of the Kwai Chung and Kwun Tong technical institutes were officially handed over to the Education Department in mid-1975 and the institutes started their first academic year in September. Both these new technical institutes are offering courses in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, textiles and clothing manufacture. In addition, commercial courses are offered at Kwai Chung and courses in printing technology are offered at Kwun Tong. Courses are full-time, block release, part-time day-release or part-time evening.
The capacity of each of these two new technical institutes is about 1,350 full-time places, but since many of the students attend on a part-time day or evening basis, the actual number of students at each institute is much greater.
Construction has started on a fourth technical institute, at Cheung Sha Wan, and it is expected to be completed in mid-1977. This institute will offer courses in engineering, construction work, hotel work and catering.
Higher Education
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 under a scheme introduced by the government in 1969-70. The administration of grants totalling $5.07 million and loans totalling $17.27 million for 1975-6 is in the hands of a joint universities' committee. The scheme has resulted in a substantial increase in the amount of public funds available for student financing and it aims to ensure that students offered places in either of the two universities shall not be pre- vented, through lack of means, from taking the places offered.
Both the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong have some financial resources of their own, but are largely financed by the government.