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(2).
In July 1931 the Retrenchment Commission recommended
the abolition of the Vernacular Middle School, on the grounds that it was a "luxury", and that the somewhat special education there provided should not be conducted by Government.
This school was to some extent connected with the
existing University School of Chinese Studies. In April
1931 a Special Committee had been appointed by the University
Court to review the arrangements in force for the teaching
of Chinese and to advise the Court and Council as to the
future provision which should be made for the teaching of Chinese within the University.
It seemed advisable, therefore, to await the
finding of the Special Committee before dealing with the
recommendation of the Retrenchment Commission with regard
to the Vernacular Middle School.
The Special Committee reported in March 1932 and
recommended, inter alia, that the School of Chinese Studies
as then constituted be discontinued and the teaching of
Chinese within the University be confined to Matriculated
students. Further the Special Committee recommended the
adoption of a modified Matriculation test "for those Chinese
students who wish to take up such new groups of studies
as involve a special and continuous study of Chinese".
The final year in the Vernacular Middle School
has hitherto been devoted to preparation for the entrance
examination for the School of Chinese Studies. The decision
to discontinue the School and consequently the entrance
examination there to which, although open to the public, was
instituted for the Vernacular Middle School, has made it
necessary to consider whether the Vernacular Middle School
should be continued as a Government School.
During the six years of its existence the Vernacular
Middle School has had a pyramidal configuration and only a mere
handful