EDUCATION
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by providing reliable bodies with grants of Crown land, reimbursing non-profit- making groups with payments of rates, allocating premises in public housing estates to suitable sponsoring bodies and providing in-service teacher training and related facilities.
Primary Education
Primary education has been free in all government schools and in most aided schools since September, 1971. In the few aided primary schools where fees continue to be charged, fees may be remitted for up to 20 per cent of the total enrolment to meet cases of genuine hardship. To help needy parents further, an annual textbook and stationery grant of $30 a pupil is available to 20 per cent of pupils enrolled in gov- ernment and aided primary schools. A minority of parents continue to send their children to private primary schools, although places are available for them in the public sector.
Following the ̄decline in the birth rate in recent years, the downward trend in primary school enrolment has continued. In September, 1978, primary school enrol- ment totalled 549,967, compared with 574,842 in the previous year. In addition, 13,417 pupils attended night schools. During the school year, 15,570 new primary places were provided in new and developing schools. Further provision of places is planned to meet the needs of developing areas, particularly the new towns in the New Territories. Under the Education Ordinance, the Director of Education has the power to order parents to send their children to primary school if it appears to him that they are being withheld without reasonable excuse. These powers are exercised only after careful investigation of family circumstances and the needs of the child. Parents can appeal to a specially-constituted board of review.
A new scheme of social work for primary schools was launched in December as part of a programme of personal social work among young people. Known as the Student Guidance Officer Scheme, it aims at providing educational and vocational guidance to all pupils and personal guidance to pupils who have learning difficulties and behavioural problems which are beyond the resources of teachers to handle. It is planned to expand this scheme to cover all primary schools by 1980.
Chinese is the language of instruction in most primary schools; English is taught as a second language. Eleven junior schools - five operated by the government, three by the government-subvented English Schools Foundation and three by private bodies cater for children whose first language is English.
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Special Education
The provision of special education was stepped up in 1978. The number of special places for handicapped children increased from 14,540 to 19,160. There are now 44 special schools - two for the blind, four for the deaf, 18 for the physically handicapped, 12 for the slow-learning and eight for the maladjusted and socially deprived. In addition, there are 138 special classes in ordinary government school 80 for the slow-learning, 28 for the partially-hearing, six for the partially-sighted and 24 for the maladjusted - and 318 special classes in ordinary aided schools - 291 for the slow- learning and 27 for the maladjusted. A total of 588 less severely physically handicapped children have been placed in ordinary classes in government and aided schools. The