CO129-603-1 Education Department- revised grant code 5-2-1947 - 14-4-1948 — Page 80

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EDUCATION DEPARTMENT.

REF. NO. F.D. 2603/45.

Your Ref. No. 52934/1947.

HONG KONG.

18th April, 1947.

(4)

Dear Robison,

Thank you for your letter of the 29th of March which coincided with the Savingram from the Secretary of State No.224 of the 19th of March.

I can well imagine the difficulties you are experiencing with the amendments to the Grant Code since I had very similar difficulties both in Palace Chambers and in the A.C.E.C. Perhaps it would be as well if I gave an outline which you might be able to extract for the Committee.

(6)

In October 1945 at a meeting of the Heads and Correspondents of the Grant Schools it was suggested by Bishop Hall and unanimously agreed that the best way of dealing with the salaries of the teachers in Grant Schools would be to place them on the scale laid down for assistant teachers in the Burnham Report of August 1945. The scale we have adopted is that given in Appendix 4 of the Burnham Report of that date together with the additional increments allowed at the minimum and maximum of the scale as shown in paragraphs 4(b) and 4(c). The scales for unqualified, temporary and qualified men assistant teachers and also the scales shown for women assistant teachers in the Burnham Report are those referred to in the amendments to the Grant Code.

Since the Code as it stood in 1941 allowed a maximum of £600 per annum for teachers in Grant Schools and since the maximum of the Burnham Scale could not in any case exceed £600, all salaries of European teachers in the Grant Schools were re-assessed early last year at that point of the Burnham Scale appropriate to qualifications, training and experience and they are, in fact, now in operation. While these new salary rates are higher in some cases than the teachers were getting in 1941, they are in some cases lower than the salary at which we should have had to assess these teachers in 1946, having regard to the fact that owing to the war no regrading on the 1941 Code had been made in that year.

It will be seen therefore that the Burnham Scale applies not only to new appointments but to all appointments. Looked at from this point of view it does appear that Section 10 might well be amended as follows:-

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Salaries of teachers who are graduates of approved British, Commonwealth, European or American Universities or Training Colleges shall be at the rates laid down for men and women assistant teachers in Appendix 4 of the Burnham Scale of August 1945 together with such increments at the minimum and maximum of the scale as are allowed in paragraphs 4 (b) and (c) of the Burnham Report of that date.

The principle of charge allowance for Heads of schools has been approved in the case of local Headmasters of Government schools and has been extended to the Grant schools at $200 per month. It would, however, be more appropriate in the case of Headteachers who come under the Burnham Scale to have this charge allowance embodied as Pounds Sterling and not as Dollars.

With regard to the last part of your paragraph 3 the normal maxima for qualified teachers would be £525 for men and £420 for women but, as you will notice from paragraphs 4 (b) and (c) of the Burnham Report, these maxima can be increased for qualifications and training.

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