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Mr. Cox suggested that as secondary schools in Hong Kong had been closed during the occupation, the number of suitable
entrants for the University would be small.
Brigadier MacDougall agreed but said that there were a number of Hong Kong students who had attended schools in
Free China.
Mr. Sloss thought that it was probable that very few of these could be ready for university studies.
Sir George Moss asked for a precise statement of the reasons why those in authority in Hong Kong wanted an early re-opening of the University.
Brigadier MacDougall replied that apart from the provision of higher education which it was felt was one of the justifications for a British administration, it was believed that the University might have a profound influence on the course of affairs in the Far East. The demand for an early re-opening came from people
in widely varied circumstances. There was no doubt that Hong Kong was proud of having a University but both influential Chinese
and Europeans hoped for a University more generously planned and
more adequately supported than in the past.
Mr. Sloss explained the delays that must be faced in getting staff and equipment from England. Equipment could be delivered
in minimum quantities for Elementary Science teaching by September which meant that laboratories could not be re-equipped in Hong Kong before January or February. The available staff consisted of
Lectures
two medical professors, a professor and a Lecturer in English,
a
Lecturer in physics, a professor and perhaps a Lecturer in
economics and an uncertain remnant of Chinese staff. New men
were difficult to find. The idea of teaching Elementary Science by demonstration and without practical teaching appeared to him entirely unsatisfactory in the case of Oriental students.
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Brigadier MacDougall
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