in operation, the department receives applications all the year round from welfare organizations and missionary societies for the allocation of more accommodation in which to carry out a variety of projects in
estates.
81. In the cottage arcas, voluntary agencies have built schools and welfare centres on sites provided by the department for which they pay a nominal fee of $2.50 per quarter for each site allocated. The activi- ties of various bodies in the Ngau Tau Kok Cottage Resettlement Area are typical of those to be found throughout these areas. This large cottage area, constructed mainly between 1952 and 1956, now has an authorized population of some 8,356 (over 1,540 families) occupying 1,380 domestic structures. When it first opened it was very much on the outskirts of town, but with the development of New Kowloon over the past ten years the surrounding area has become densely populated. Here the main social and educational work is in the hands of the Maryknoll Mission which runs one primary school in two sessions pro- viding a total of 1,800 places, and also operates a clinic, a handicraft training centre, a welfare centre with a library for small children, a noodle factory and a free meal centre.
82. The educational and welfare activities in this area are typical of those being undertaken elsewhere. By the end of the year, the fourteen cottage areas had 34 schools with primary places for 18,421 students, 22 welfare centres, 18 clinics, and 4 boys' and girls' clubs, all operated by voluntary agencies. There were also 8 Kaifong (or District) Welfare Associations operating in estates and areas. These Associations were formerly in direct contact with the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs but since November 1965 the Resettlement Department has taken over re- sponsibility for liaison with them, as a means of promoting a closer relationship with settlers.
83. In multi-storey estates the Resettlement Department has no sites to offer to voluntary agencies, and a different policy has evolved. The rooftops of the Mark 1 and II blocks were specially strengthened and provided with penthouses so that they could be used for boys' and girls' clubs or primary schools. A nominal fee of $1 is charged for the use of a rooftop and school fees are limited to a maximum of $90 a year per pupil for a half-day primary school and $120 a year for a full-day primary school (i.c. $10 p.m. for 12 months or $12 p.m. for 10 months). The former school fees for rooftop schools were $60 a year per pupil. The upward revision took place in September 1965
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