XN000022-1973-10-17 — Page 55

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Wednesday, October 17, 1973

I have little to add to what I said last year about tertiary education.

The University and Polytechnic Grants Committee are currently discussing

the universities' plan for the forthcoming quadrennium covering the years

1974-78. These plans should achieve an expansion in the two universities

from a capacity of 6,000 to one of 8,400 at least by 1978.

The Polytechnic is making good progress towards its target of

8,000 full time and 20,000 part-time students by 1978, and I would like

to congratulate the Board and the staff of the Polytechnic on their success

in launching this new venture. In combination these measures provide for

a tripling of facilities in tertiary education by 1978.

Medical and Health Services

+

I turn now to our Medical and Health Services services of which

we are justly very proud. It is no small achievement in a high density

community such as this to be able to point to the consistently falling

levels in the overall death rate, in infant and maternal mortality and in

the incidence of infectious diseases.

Since we are reaching the end of the 10-year period of development

set out in the 1964 White Paper, the Department of Medical and Health

Services drew up comprehensive plans for meeting the needs of the next

ten years, We have followed the same procedure over these plans as with

those for the expansion of secondary education. A Medical Development Advisory

Committee with experienced and authoritative membership was set up under

the chairmanship of Sir Albert Rodrigues. The Department's plans were then

submitted to it as a basis for recommendations as to what our targets should

be for 1983, how we should proceed to achieve them, and what demands this

/would make