XN000022-1974-10-16 — Page 8

6.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1974

TEMPORARY MEASURES TO MAXIMIZE ENROLMENTS

TO ACHIEVE THESE TARGETS, TEMPORARY MEASURES WILL HAVE TO BE ADOPTED TO MAXIMIZE ENROLMENTS IN EXISTING SCHOOLS UNTIL THE BUILDING PROGRAMME OVERTAKES THE SCHOOL POPULATION.

IT IS THEREFORE PROPOSED TO INTRODUCE IN SEPTEMBER 1975 FLOTATION, COMBINED WITH AN EXTENDED DAY SYSTEM, TO PERMIT A STAGGERING OF CLASSES THROUGHOUT THE DAY IN ALL JUNIOR SECONDARY FORMS IN GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS, BUT NOT TO SENIOR SECONDARY FORMS, THEREBY INCREASING THE NUMBER OF FORM 1 PLACES BY UP TO 50 PER CENT IN THESE SCHOOLS. THE AIDED SCHOOLS WILL ALSO BE ENCOURAGED TO ADOPT THIS SYSTEM.

THE WHITE PAPER SAID: +IF IT PROVES POSSIBLE! TO INCREASE THEIR ENROLMENTS BY 50 PER CENT, THE NUMBER OF PLACES AVAILABLE IN FORMS 1 TO 3 OF THESE SCHOOLS WILL BE 137,000 IN SEPTEMBER 1976 AND 205,000 IN SEPTEMBER 1979.

+THE BALANCE OF PLACES NECESSARY TO MAKE UP THE TARGET OF 100 PER CENT PROVISION FOR THE AGE GROUP BY SEPTEMBER 1979 WOULD BE +BOUGHT+ IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS.

+ IN 1979 IT IS LIKELY THAT ABOUT 77,000 PLACES WOULD HAVE TO BE +BOUGHT+, BUT THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF +BOUGHT+ PLACES WILL ALSO DEPEND UPON THE RATE OF COMPLETION OF NEW SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND THE EXTENT TO WHICH AIDED SCHOOLS ARE ABLE AND WILLING TO INCREASE THEIR ENROLMENS BY FLOTATION/EXTENDED DAY OPERATION.

EXTENDED DAY OPERATION

+ IT IS NOT PROPOSED TO INCREASE ENROLMENTS IN FORMS 4 AND 5 BY USE OF THE FLOTATION/EXTENDED DAY METHOD. 66,913 PLACES WILL BE AVAILABLE IN SEPTEMBER 1979 IN FORMS 4 AND 5 OF GOVERNMENT, AIDED AND ASSISTED PRIVATE SCHOOLS AGAINST A TARGET FIGURE OF 85,920 PLACES. THE BALANCE OF ABOUT 19,000 PLACES WILL HAVE TO BE +BOUGHT+ IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS AND THERE IS NO REASON TO DOUBT THAT THIS WILL BE AVAILABLE.+

WHILE IT IS NOT THE GOVERNMENT'S INTENTION TO INTRODUCE BISESSIONAL OPERATION IN JUNIOR SECONDARY FORMS EVEN AS AN INTERIM MEASURE, IF INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL AUTHORITIES CHOOSE TO ADOPT BISESSIONALISM THERE WOULD BE NO GOVERNMENT OBJECTION.

SCHOOL AUTHORITIES WILL BE PERMITTED TO CONTINUE ROTATION IF THEY WISH BUT IT IS NOT INTENDED TO RECOMMEND THE ADOPTION OF ROTATION AS STANDARD PRACTICE.

THE WHITE

J