XN000022-1972-05-12 — Page 3

3

—

Friday, May 12, 1972

Mr. Herries and seven of the overseas Members will be in Hong

Kong from May 14 to May 20 to make an initial assessment of Polytechnic

requirements. They will meet the Polytechnic Board, members of the Polytechnic,

including Mr. C.L. Old, the Director Polytechnic, and Hung Hon Technical

College staff as well as a number of other concerned in the Polytechnic.

The Secretary of the U.P.G.C., Mr. S.F. Bailey, said: The

programne is a very full one. All being well we expect the Chairman to

be able to give the Polytechnic Board the Committee's goneral guidance by

May 22.

As soon as possible after that we hope to be able to advise the

Governmont confidentially what the initial financial requirements seem to be.

Negotiations on this may take a little while but we know the Government is

as anxicus as anyone to soo the Polytechnic start up.

Pioneering Step

"The formation of the University and Polytechnic Grants Committee

is rogarded by many educationists outside Hong Kong as a pioneering step and

that it was reported in The Times Higher Education Supplement as an iton of

some interest."

The deliberate alliance of a non-University institution such as the

Polytechnic with the system of financing previously reserved for universitios

put Hong Kong, he thought, ahead of the United Kingdom in some ways.

"It is not just that we are hoping to avoid their mistakes although

of course we are trying to do that, but rather that we are actually giving them

an example to follow. It is a considerable task but I think we can do it,”

Mr. Bailey said.

Note to Editors: Copies of the Final Report of the Polytechnic Planning

Committee are distributed separately in the Press Boxes, Government Information Services, this evening.