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EDUCATION
rise from about $1,700 million in 1978-9 to more than $2,900 million in 1986-7. Total capital expenditure over the same period is expected to be about $2,101 million.
A review is currently being undertaken of primary education, and of the care and education of children below primary school age. The resultant proposals will be published in a Green Paper in 1979.
In his address to the Legislative Council in October, 1978, the Governor announced his intention to initiate a wide-ranging review covering the whole of the education system, its methods and its objectives. This review will be conducted primarily by overseas experts, together with local participation. The Governor said that this review will be a longer-term development to check the plans already prepared before they become too deeply entrenched.
The provision of special education continued to expand following the publication in October, 1977, of a White Paper on Rehabilitation Services. The main aims are to expand screening and group testing services to cover all primary school pupils; to increase to 50,800 the number of places in special schools and special classes in or- dinary schools; to increase training services to ensure that all who are involved in the provision of special education services are suitably trained; and to provide other serv- ices that will enable handicapped children to develop their capabilities to the full. In May, a group of teachers, students and parents of a Catholic middle school, Precious Blood Golden Jubilee Secondary School, held demonstrations and sit-ins at the school and elsewhere to protest against alleged 'reprisals' against certain teachers and students who had earlier reported the school's mishandling of finances to the authorities. School activities were disrupted to such an extent that the Director of Education had to exercise his statutory power to order the school's closure. A three- person committee of inquiry chaired by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, Dr Rayson Huang Lisung, who is also an Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council, was subsequently appointed by the Governor to recommend measures that should be taken to avoid a recurrence of a similar state of affairs in secondary schools in the public sector.
As a result of recommendations made by the committee in its interim report published in July, a new school was set up to accommodate those students who wished to continue their studies in another environment.
The final report of the committee of inquiry, published in October, listed among its recommendations the need to improve channels of communication between teaching staff, heads of schools, school managements and the Education Department. It also called for the greater involvement of parents in school affairs and urged the Education Department to examine whether it had sufficient capabilities in responding to grievances.
The government, in responding to the report, announced that the recommendations were generally acceptable and measures would be taken to implement them.
Kindergartens
A total of 788 kindergartens provide pre-school education for 186,130 children in the three to six year age group. These private institutions are supervised by officers of the Education Department, who make professional advice freely available to school man- agers, teachers, parents and members of the public. The government gives assistance