windows and put up protective grilles to cover the verandah opening. An increasing number of tenants possess sophisticated electrical appli- ances: electric rice cookers are very common, and even refrigerators and television sets no longer attract surprised comment. It is not unusual for a tenant to spend over $1,000 on initial improvements and furniture for his new home, and some may lay out $3,000 or more in this way. This process usually takes about three weeks after the initial rent payment and handing over of the tenancy card and, in the newer types of blocks, it is during this period also that the necessary arrangements are made with the Water Authority and with the public utility companies for a water supply and electrical connexion. It seems that the majority of tenants intend to create a flat which, however small, will serve as the family's permanent home in the foreseeable future: a survey of Tai Hang Tung estate carried out in 1965 showed that 95% of the families surveyed had lived at this estate since its completion ten years before.
PRIMARY EDUCATION AND WELFARE
80. The resettlement estates, with their large concentrations of people, present both a great need and a great opportunity for welfare work of all descriptions. Voluntary agencies have, from the start, been quick to accept this challenge, and continue to seek fresh outlets for their activities as new estates are opened.
81. As was mentioned earlier, one of the first improvements to the Mark I blocks was to strengthen the flat roofs and to fence them in, thus providing additional recreational space. These roofs were then turned over for use as boys' and girls' clubs or primary schools, with penthouses added at either end. From the start, a nominal rent of $1 a month has been charged for these premises, and school fees are now limited to a maximum of $90 a year for each pupil for a half-day and $120 a year for a full-day primary school (the fees normally being collected in 10 monthly instalments). Until 1965, the maximum fee was $60, the increase being approved to encourage the payment of higher salaries to the teachers and the provision of improved facilities so that the schools might qualify for a subsidy under the Education Department's subsidy code. By the end of March 1968, 315 rooftops were used as schools, 43 as boys' and girls' clubs, 28 as recreation centres and 15 as vocational training centres.
82. But the rooftops were insufficient to meet the need for schools and welfare facilities in the early estates, and ground floor rooms in selected
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