XN000022-1978-04-12 — Page 10

9.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 1978

REFERRING TO THE UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS CONCERN ABOUT THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION, MR. TOPLEY SAID: THERE IS A WORRY (AND I FULLY UNDERSTAND THE WORRY) THAT THE MEANS BY WHICH WE SHALL ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL JUNIOR SECONDARY EDUCATION WITHIN THE TIME SCALE WE HAVE SET OURSELVES ARE SUCH THAT THE STANDARD ATTAINABLE IN MANY OF OUR SCHOOLS WILL BE INADEQUATE.

+TO PUT IT ANOTHER WAY, DIFFERENT STANDARDS OF PUBLIC SECTOR PLACES WILL RESULT FROM THE DIFFERING LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE TO THOSE PLACES. IN PARTICULAR, DIFFERING SALARY SCALES COULD LEAD TO SERIOUS STAFFING PROBLEMS IN SOME SCHOOLS WITH OBVIOUS EFFECTS ON THE TEACHING IN THESE SCHOOLS.+

MR. TOPLEY DREW ATTENTION TO TWO RELATED PROBLEMS OF

EDUCATIONAL PLANNING - THE SETTING OF TARGETS FOR PROVISION AT VARIOUS LEVELS IN EDUCATION LEADING TO SPECIFIC CLASS STRUCTURES IN SPECIFIC SCHOOLS AND THE SETTING OF LEVELS OF AID.

+UNLESS WE COMMAND SUFFICIENT FUNDS TO MAKE ALL SCHOOLS FULLY AIDED, WE MUST EITHER BUILD FEWER SCHOOLS OR WE MUST OPEN NEW SCHOOLS AT LOWER-LEVELS OF AID.

+TAKING ACCOUNT OF THE ACTUAL SITUATION WE HAVE CREATED SCHOOLS ASYMMETRIC IN CLASS STRUCTURE AND SUPPORTED BY CAPUT GRANTS LOWER THAN THOSE GIVEN TO FULLY AIDED SCHOOLS,+ MR. TOPLEY SAID.

HE ADDED: +MEASURES OF THIS KIND HAVE BEEN USED AT LEAST SINCE 1971 AND WERE BUILT INTO THE PROPOSALS IN THE 1974 WHITE PAPER ON SECONDARY EDUCATION BECAUSE WE BELIEVED THAT PROVISION THROUGH A BUILDING PROGRAMME MADE UP ENTIRELY OF FULLY AIDED SCHOOLS WOULD BE TOO COSTLY AND THEREFORE TOO SLOW.+

THE DIRECTOR THEN REPLIED TO QUESTIONS RAISED BY UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS ABOUT THE IMBALANCE IN THE BUILDING PROGRAMME BETWEEN FULLY AIDED AND NON-PROF IT-MAKING SCHOOLS.

HE SAID: +IN THE CURRENT ACADEMIC YEAR THERE ARE 239 PUBLIC SECTOR SCHOOLS, 196 OF WHICH ARE GOVERNMENT OR AIDED AND 43 ARE NON-PROF IT-MAK ING. BY 1981 THERE WILL BE A TOTAL OF 310 224 GOVERNMENT OR AIDED AND 86 NON-PROFIT-MAKING SCHOOLS.

+ IN THE NEW TERRITORIES THE PICTURE IS THAT THIS YEAR THERE ARE 39 GOVERNMENT OR AIDED SCHOOLS AND SEVEN NON-PROFIT- MAKING SCHOOLS IN 1981 THERE WILL BE 58 GOVERNMENT OR AIDED SCHOOLS AND 43 NON-PROF IT-MAKING SCHOOLS.

+THUS BY 1981 THERE WILL BE AN ADDITION OF 81 SCHOOLS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR LEADING TO A CORRESPONDING REDUCTION IN PLACES IN PRIVATE INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS. THERE WILL ALSO BE A PREPONDERANCE OF GOVERNMENT AND AIDED SCHOOLS IN BOTH THE ESTABLISHED UREAN AREAS AND IN THE NEW TERRITORIES.

/+80 ALTHOUGH

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