XN000022-1973-08-15 — Page 2

Wednesday, August 15, 1973

STANDARDISATION OF TUMION FEES

More Students To Benefit From Fee Remission

The government has decided to introduce from January 1 next year

the existing standard tuition fees into 39 fully aided secondary schools

which are still charging pre-1965 fees.

At the same time the fee remission rates in the schools concerned

will be increased by five per cent, thus enabling about 2,000 more pupils

to apply for free places.

In the urban areas, the existing annual fee in government and other

aided secondary schools is $400 for Forms 1 to 5 and $450 for Form 6. Fees

in rural areas are half the urban fees.

The pre-1965 old standard rate of tuition fee is $320 a year for

Forms 1 to 5 and $360 a year for Form 6 in urban aided secondary schools

while the old rural standard annual tuition fee is $160 and $180 respectively.

An Education Department spokesman said today: "The government's

decision to adjust the fees follows implementation in April 1975 of the Unified

Code of Aid for Secondary Schools which was drawn up in consultation with the

63-member Subsidised Secondary Schools Council and the 22-member Grant Schools

Council."

He pointed out that 34 urban and five rural aided secondary schools

were involved as compared with 62 government and aided secondary schools where

pupils were already paying the existing standard tuition fees.

/"In line