GRANT IN AID SCHOOLS.
The number of these schools is again sixteen, the Wah Yan branch school at Kowloon having been added to the list. It may not be necessary to place any more schools on the Grant List in the near future and I do not see any pressing need for an increase in the secondary departments of English Schools for the next few years.
As the late Governor said at one of his last public functions there is room for more schools which cater for that majority of our pupils who do not stay at school beyond class 3 or 4.
The pupils at the English Schools numbered 4,639 as against 4,257 last year while the numbers at Vernacular Schools dropped from 1,011 to 987.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS.
It was found necessary at the beginning of the year to appoint one new Inspector of Vernacular Schools and an increase in subsidy expenditure of $3,000 was incurred. This would have to be further, but at present not considerably, increased if aid were given to all schools which merit and need it. The receipt of a subsidy is a sort of hall mark and has the merit of attracting pupils to institutions which have met with the comparative approval of the inspectors.
In the preface to this report I have referred to the private English schools of which in 1929 there were 135 with 6,361 pupils of whom only 270 were girls.
EXAMINATIONS.
(i) A table showing the results of the Matriculation and Local Examinations conducted in 1929 by the University of Hong Kong is given below. A fair standard has been reached in Government and Grant in Aid schools, of the latter three girls' schools being well above the average and one boys' school considerably below. This year for the first time there were candidates from a Vernacular Grant school for girls.
The Local Examinations are conducted by the University at the request of the Government. All boys and girls in the two senior classes of Government and Grant in Aid English schools are required to sit for these examinations.