XN000022-1981-10-23 — Page 5

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1981

$22 MILLION SECONDARY SCHOOL TO BE BUILT AT MUI WO

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THE FOUNDATION STONE FOR A BADLY NEEDED+ SECONDARY SCHOOL ON LANTAU WAS LAID TODAY (FRIDAY) BY THE GOVERNOR, SIR MURRAY MACLEHOSE.

THE SCHOOL IS THE NEW TERRITORIES HEUNG YEE KUK SOUTHERN DISTRICT SECONDARY SCHOOL, WHICH WILL BE BUILT ON A 7 000-SQUARE- METRE SITE CLOSE TO THE FERRY CONCOURSE AT MUI WO AT A COST OF $22 MILLION.

CONSTRUCTION WORK WILL BE COMPLETED BY AUGUST NEXT YEAR IN TIME FOR THE 1982/83 ACADEMIC YEAR WHEN 480 FORM AND FORM IV STUDENTS WILL BE ENROLLED.

THE SCHOOL WILL HAVE 24 CLASSROOMS, A HALL, FOUR LABORATORIES, TWO HOME ECONOMICS ROOMS, TWO DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY ROOMS, A LIBRARY AND GEOGRAPHY, MUSIC AND ART ROOMS.

WHEN FULLY OPERATIONAL BY 1985, IT WILL PROVIDE 1 160 PLACES FOR FORM I TO FORM VII STUDENTS.

THE GOVERNOR SAID THE SCHOOL WAS INDEED BADLY NEEDED. IT WOULD SERVE BOTH LANTAU AND THE SURROUNDING ISLANDS AND EASE THE PRESENT PRESSURE FOR PLACES AT THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS ON CHEUNG CHAU AND IN TAI O.

+THE ADVANTAGES OF BUILDING SUBSTANTIAL, CENTRALLY-LOCATED SCHOOLS LIKE THIS IN PREFERENCE TO A PROLIFERATION OF SMALL SCHOOLS, WHETHER PRIMARY OR SECONDARY, ARE OBVIOUS,+ HE SAID.

+SMALL RURAL SCHOOLS HAVE PROBLEMS SUCH AS COMBINED-CLASS TEACHING, INADEQUATE NUMBERS OF ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF, AND LACK OF SPECIÁLIST TEACHERS WHICH ARE VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO SOLVE.

+IN A CENTRAL SCHOOL PUPILS FACILITIES AND RESOURCES AND THE UNIT, SIR MURRAY SAID.

HAVE A HIGHER STANDARD OF INTEREST OF BEING PART OF A LARGE

+1 REALISE THAT THERE MAY BE PROBLEMS OF TRANSPORTATION, BUT THEY ARE OF A LESSER SORT AND CAN AND WILL BE SOLVED,+ HE SAID.

SIR MURRAY SAID HE WAS IMPRESSED AT THE FIRM SUPPORT THAT HAD BEEN GIVEN TO THIS CONCEPT BY COMMUNITY LEADERS THROUGHOUT THE NEW TERRITORIES.

HE SAID LEADERS OF THE HEUNG YEE KUK AND LEADING RESIDENTS OF MUI WO HAD SPOKEN TO HIM OF THE NEED FOR THE SCHOOL.

+MOREOVER, HE SAID, THEY HAVE BACKED THEIR WORDS WITH MONEY AND MADE SUBSTANTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS, WITH THE KUK IN THE LEAD.

+1 AM GLAD IT HAS BEEN POSSIBLE FOR YOUR GOVERNMENT TO RESPOND FAIRLY RAPIDLY TO THESE REPRESENTATIONS.+

SIR MURRAY SAID HE WAS SURE THE NEW TERRITORIES HEUNG YEE KUK SOUTHERN DISTRICT SECONDARY SCHOOL WOULD BE A SOURCE OF CONSIDERABLE LOCAL PRIDE AND SATISFACTION AND WISHED IT ALL SUCCESS.

ALSO ATTENDING TODAY'S CEREMONY WERE THE SECRETARY FOR THE NEW TERRITORIES, MR DAVID AKERS-JONES- THE SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION, MR KENNETH TOPLEY- THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, MR COLVYN HAYE- THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HEUNG YEE KUK, MR LAU WONG-FAT- ISLANDS DISTRICT OFFICER, MR RICKY FUNG AND THE PROJECT ARCHITECT, PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, MR D. NAINGGOLAN.

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