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November, but of the eighteen Free places at the Belilios Public School offered to Girls attending Vernacular Schools, only five were filled, most girls from these schools failing as usual to pass the test in English.
14. Every school has been visited at least once during the year by an Inspector.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS-RURAL DISTRICT.
15. Subsidized Schools. During the year, nineteen Subsidized Schools closed and two had their subsidies cancelled, whilst twenty-one others were put on the Subsidy List. The total at the end of the year is the same as that of the previous year, namely, one hundred and one. The majority of these schools received subsidies of $15, $12.50, $10, $7.50, or $5 per month according to their merit or needs. A small number of the large or outlying schools were given special subsidies varying from $240 to $1000 per annum. For the year, $15,565.00 were spent as subsidies, working out to a cost of about $3.66 per pupil.
16. Non-Subsidized Schools. Forty-one new schools were registered during the year and two were transferred from the Subsidy List; with thirty-nine schools closed and twenty-one put on the Subsidy List, the total at the end of December was sixty-three (eighty in 1931).
17. Night Schools. The Night School for Women in Shek Woo Hui is still being carried on, but attendance was very irregular. The maximum enrolment was fifteen and the average attendance was seven.
18. Attendance. In the Subsidized Schools, the maximum enrolment was 4,239 including 456 girls (3,832 with 510 girls in 1931) with an average attendance of 3,666. In the Non-Subsidized Schools, the maximum enrolment was 1,633 including 222 girls (1,761 with 210 girls in 1981) with an average attendance of 1,298. There has been a marked increase in the number of children going to schools in these parts during the last two years—a jump of more than a thousand or over 20%.
19. Scholarships. 27 Free Places in Government District Schools are offered annually to boys studying in the Subsidized Schools. In November a competitive examination for these free places was held, at which forty students presented themselves.
20. There is a tendency in the larger villages to have one large school in each village instead of having a number of small ones. Of course, this can only be carried out in villages where spacious Ancestral Halls are available. In 1931 Ping Shan