XN000022-1974-03-13 — Page 13

Wednesday, March 13, 1974

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First, he said, bi-sessionalism or some form of maximising the

usage of present school facilities must be adopted.

He recognised that bisessionalism in the form described in the

Green Paper had been strongly criticised but suggestions including those

from professional groups had been made to make good its apparent weakness,

he said.

Secondly, Mr. Wang went on, more financial provision should be

made for the additional expenditure involved.

"I, for one, believe that there should not be any difficulty in

such a provision which I estimate to cost no more than 0.5 percent of

the total expenditure estimato or three per cent of the $1,070 million

appropriated for the total expenditure for education in the coming year."

Outlining the differentiation in government subsidy, Mr. Wang

said those granted free-remission for five years get some $8,000, those

with three-year places about $4,800 in subsidized schools and $1,800 in

assisted schools, those allocated a bought place in private schools

about $1,350, while those studying in private schools have to pay about

$700 a year at no cost to the government,

"What is even more our deeper concern is those 30,000 drop-outs,

among whom not a few are not necessarily inferior in quality or academic

standards," he said.

Those able to study in private schools, he added, were only able

to do so because they did not belong to poorer families.

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