CO129-603-2 Education Department- revised grant code 5-4-1948 - 6-1-1949 — Page 33

See

(2-1)

22

53923/48

From the Secretary of State for the Colonies

To the Officer Administering the Government of HONG KONG

Date

28 OCT 1OER

No.

1010

Saving.

17

31

1.

My savingram No.862.

Education Grant Code.

A discussion has been held by my Advisers and others with Bishop Hall and

Mr. Rowell together.

2.

It was agreed that it would be undesirable that the present code, which has been in operation for a comparatively short time since the war, should be scrapped and a new code formulating a fresh method of calculating grants (e.g.block grants)

be introduced.

3.

It appeared that the difference between the Anglican Schools and the Education Department involved no educational principle and that the Bishop's main objections were to Clauses 3 and 37 of the revised code forwarded with your savingram No,494, 4. Clause 5 (which is not new) apparently restricts the management of the school to an individual, but it is not the intention of the Director of Education that it

There should therefore be little difficulty in amending

should be so restricted.

this Clause.

5.

Clause 57 is new. Before its existence the close scrutiny of items of expend- iture by the Education Department which was apparently required by the system in Hong Kong was found extremely irritating and restricted the sense of responsibility

of the Boards of Managers of the Anglican schools.

However, so long as the amount

of subscriptions which could be collected (over and above school fees) was not limited, a financial margin was thus provided within which the Boards of Managers

The proposed Clause 37 would remove had scope for exercising responsibility.

that margin and thereby render an already irritating situation intolerable.

6.

It was finally agreed that Mr. Rowell and Bishop Hall, both of whom are shortly returning to Hong Kong, would consult further together there with a view

to altering Clauses 3 and 37 and to concerting measures to reduce the necessity of seeking the prior approval of the Education Department for the details of the

school's expenditure. The Bishop would not object to Government scrutiny of the

/school