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We have two well established and flourishing universities and a younger but very robust polytechnic, and are pressing ahead with an ambitious expansion of medical training. This afternoon HRH the Duke of Edinburgh will open a new and magnificently equipped Dental School in the Hong Kong University. A second medical school at the Chinese University will comence its pre-clinical intake in September this year and the associated Prince of Wales Teaching Hospital at Shatin will open in 1982.
Of course while we intend to expand further our educational facilities, we cannot hope to be self sufficient in all fields. Nor do we aim to be, since the experience of overseas education is highly beneficial. So, many of our students will continue to seek higher education in institutions overseas. We of course regret the discouraging effect on this process of the new university fee structure in the U.K. Obviously its budgetary provision is entirely a matter for the United Kingdom Government, but since we regard these traditional academic links as of great importance, we hope the present measures will be modified as financial pressures ease. Meanwhile my government is conscious of its duty to maintain our students' opportunities for higher education overseas and not to allow these long-standing academic links to wither by default. So, for the time being, we will take whatever financial steps are necessary to ease the position of our students and keep the old tradition going meanwhile.
Fundamental to our planning has been the certain knowledge that our future well-being depends on the better education of all sections of our population. We have been greatly assisted by the deep-rooted conviction of the local community of the merit of self-improvement. This is reflected both in the sacrifices parents are prepared to make to secure their children's education, and the concentration children apply to their studies. It is reflected too in the healthy critical interest of the community in our
education policies.
We have now reached something of a quantitative plateau and are taking stock. This is being done in two ways. Firstly we are conducting an intemal review of post-secondary and technical education with a particular
/eye to
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