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During the Summer, there were some cases of Malaria; otherwise the general health was satisfactory.
II. GRANT SCHOOLS.
The number of Vernacular Grant Schools remains 4. 2 of these have a Middle School and the Ying Wa Girls' School has had another very successful year in the Junior Local Examination, for which 5 students were presented and all passed.
The Maximum Enrolment in these schools was 1,011, and the Average Attendance was 925.
The teaching of Reading in all these schools has shown a steady improvement, but in one or two cases Composition has not as yet reached a sufficiently high standard. English, which was introduced a few years ago by one of these schools into its upper classes only, is now more extensively studied and is taught in all these schools.
Discipline and tone continued to be very good and the Maximum Grant was awarded in all cases.
III. PRIVATE SCHOOLS, URBAN DISTRICTS.
Subsidized Schools.—During the year, one Subsidized School closed, one was removed from the list as being inefficient, and 24 were added to the list. Thus the total number at the end of the year is brought up to 218. The Maximum Enrolment in these schools was 14,247 (12,592 in 1927) and the Average Attendance was 13,016 (11,260 in 1927). The total amount of Subsidies paid was $92,280, working out on the average to be $423.3 per school and $6.47 per pupil (as against $436.14 and $7.01 respectively in 1927).
Non-Subsidized Schools.—138 new schools were registered—another record year, beating last year's record by 7. One school was struck off the list and 68 schools closed of their own accord—an improvement when compared with the numbers for the 3 previous years: 84, 88 and 105 in 1927, 1926 and 1925 respectively. The number of schools on this list at the end of the year totalled 434 (388 in 1927 and 348 in 1926), with a Maximum Enrolment of 21,384, and an Average Attendance of 19,102, (17,367 and 14,585 in 1927).
The total number of Private Day Schools now existing is 658 (590 in 1927), consisting of 2 Exempted, 4 Grant, 218 Subsidized and 434 Non-Subsidized Schools.
The Maximum Enrolment was 36,642 (31,010 in 1927) and the Average Attendance was 33,043 (26,769 in 1927), the former number including 12,432 girls.