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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1992
'ABOUT 22 PER CENT OF ELIGIBLE PARENTS WERE REIMBURSED THE FULL STANDARD FEE," MR CHAN NOTED.
"TOTAL DISBURSEMENTS AMOUNT TO $24.7 MILLION FOR THE PARENTS OF 10,988 CHILDREN, REPRESENTING 5.7 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL KINDERGARTEN ENROLMENT," HE ADDED.
MR CHAN TOLD THE COUNCILLORS THAT FUNDING FOR THE KINDERGARTEN FEE REMISSION SCHEME WOULD BE INCREASED FROM $26 MILLION AT PRESENT TO $63 MILLION BY 1996/97.
HOWEVER, HE SAID IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE AT THIS STAGE TO SAY HOW THIS INCREASE WOULD BE TRANSLATED INTO A NEW RATIO AS OTHER FACTORS TO BE INVOLVED IN THE CALCULATION WERE UNKNOWN.
BY
THE GOVERNMENT ALSO SUBSIDISES NON-PROFIT-MAKING KINDERGARTENS REIMBURSING THEIR RENTS AND RATES. EXPENDITURE IN THIS RESPECT 1992/93 AMOUNTED TO $113 MILLION.
IN
THE SECRETARY SAID THE GOVERNMENT'S EXPENDITURE ON KINDERGARTEN EDUCATION TOTALLED $83.7 MILLION IN 1989/90, $93 MILLION IN 1990/91 AND $128.9 MILLION IN 1991/92.
PER
THE FIGURES REPRESENTED ONE PER CENT, 0.9 PER CENT AND 1.1 OF THE TOTAL BUDGET FOR THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT IN THE SAME PERIOD RESPECTIVELY.
CENT
MR CHAN ALSO CITED STATISTICS SHOWING THERE WERE 86,867 CHILDREN AGED SIX, WHICH IS THE NORMAL AGE OF ENTRY INTO PRIMARY ONE, IN 1989, 81,992 IN 1990 AND 77,043 IN 1991.
IN ADDITION, THERE WERE 201,750 TWO TO SIX-YEAR-OLDS ENROLLED IN VARIOUS KINDERGARTENS GRADES INCLUDING NURSERY CLASSES, LOWER Ко CLASSES AND UPPER KG CLASSES IN 1989, 196,466 IN 1990 AND 193,658 IN 1991.
767
DURING THE SAME THREE-YEAR PERIOD, THERE WERE 791, 785 AND NON-PROFIT-MAKING AND OTHER PRIVATE KINDERGARTENS IN HONG KONG RESPECTIVELY.
TOGETHER, THEY PROVIDED 224,267 PLACES IN 1989, 224,718 IN 1990 AND 223,376 IN 1991.
THE ACTUAL ENROLMENT IN THE THREE YEARS WAS 201,750, AND 193,658 RESPECTIVELY.
196,466
AS TO THE QUESTION WHETHER CHILDREN ENROLLED IN PRIMARY 1 DIRECT WITHOUT COMPLETING KINDERGARTEN EDUCATION AND MORE LIKELY ΤΟ HAVE LEARNING PROBLEMS, MR CHAN SAID THE GOVERNMENT HAD OUT ANY SPECIFIC STUDY TO EXAMINE THIS ISSUE.
NOT CARRIED
"THE PRESENT PRIMARY 1 CURRICULUM DOES NOT PRESUPPOSE THAT PUPILS STARTING THEIR SCHOOLING HAVE ANY PRIOR ACADEMIC KNOWLEDGE," HE SAID.
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