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IV-EDUCATION.There are 71 Government and Grant Schools, the most important of which is Queen's College. Of these 22 are Upper Grade Schools with a staff competent to give instruction on all subjects of the 7th Standard, and above. These latter schools have an average attendance of 4,337, and the medium of instruction in all of them with the exception of five girls' schools, is English. The 49 remaining schools are all Lower Grade. They comprise one school for British Indians where English and Urdu are taught; four Government and one Grant Anglo-Chinese Schools; and 43 Grant Vernacular Schools. The average attendance at all these Lower Grade Schools is 2,223. The total average attendance, at both Grades of School, is 6,560.
The revenue derived from school fees is $68,204 (of which $40,792 is from Queen's College) and is rapidly increasing: this is mainly to be accounted for by the increasing numbers of Chinese desirous of an English education.
Hongkong is fortunate in including among its schools two limited to children of British parentage. Both these schools (one for boys, the other for girls) are under the Government. In 1909 the combined average attendance at them was 80. As might be expected they have a strong patriotic bias: they are supporters of the Empire League, and the boys' school provides a small but efficient cadet corps.
Higher education is represented by the Technical Institute, where instruction is given in the evening in Mathematics, Machine Drawing, Building Construction, Field Surveying and allied subjects in Chemistry and Physics; in the English and French languages, Book-keeping and Shorthand. There is also a Teachers' Class, at which the junior Chinese masters of Government and Grant Schools are expected to attend. The Institute is furnished with a well-equipped laboratory. The lecturers are chiefly Civil Servants recruited from the European staffs of Queen's College and the Public Works Department. These officers receive fees for their services.
A scheme for the foundation of a University is rapidly being matured, the building fund having been furnished by the generosity of Mr. H. N. Mody and the endowment fund by private subscription. It is hoped that the University will be opened with chairs of Medicine, Engineering and Arts by the beginning of 1912.
V.-PUBLIC WORKS.Of the principal works in progress, the Kowloon Waterworks Reservoir was not finished as anticipated owing to the necessity of having to cancel the contract and procure fresh tenders for completion. The trench for the Mongkoktsui Breakwater was also not quite completed owing to special repairs to the Dredger St. Enoch caused by the Typhoon in October. The New Government Offices and Law Courts made fair progress.
The following works were completed :- Extension to Public Works Offices (Annexe); Staff Quarters at Tai Po; Alterations for Quarantine Station at Lai Chi Kok; Permanent Stairway from Ball Room at Government House; Wongneichong and Tai Kok Tsui