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Australian University, already the recipient of valuable private endowments, which is in receipt of an annual subsidy of £66,000 (say $500,000) and has recently received a special grant for additional buildings of £300,000 (say $2,500,000), spread over six years.
No comparison is here inten led with the government grants enjoyed by the Hongk ng University if this University is to take the position claimed for it, its appeal cannot be limited to the Colony or the Colonial Government.
Two criticisms may here be made the first, that the number of students is not yet such as to justify comparison with larger Universities. The answer is that, at least so far as the teaching staff is concerned, the cost of an instintion depends on the courses rendered available rather than on the number of students following them. A moderate increase of students, through the increase of fees payable, might even be―as, in the last year, it has been at long- kong-a source of economy.
But here, again, it may be objected that educa- tion is worth paying for and that fees ought to be increased. And in this sense it is true that the fees ($300 a year for tuition and $240 for board and residence during term-time) still remain at the figure at which they were fixed before the war. The fees are, however, believed to be the highest in China, and the general standard of wealth is extremely low. Materially to increase the fees would mean to exclude from the University many students now taking
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