TNAG-0176-FCO40-212-Brief-on-communist-controlled-schools-for-Lord-Shepherd-s-vi-1969 — Page 93

Ref: GEN/14/368/139

Y.E.

CONFIDENTIAL

Communist School Fees

Special Branch,

Hong Kong Police.

3rd October, 1968.

2)

At the Government House Meeting held on 27th September, 1968, Y.E. directed that I produce a note showing the fees charged by communist schools. In the attached schedules, 'A' shows the comparison in the range of fees charged by private, subsidised, Government and communist schools, while 'B' lists the actual monthly fees charged by the three major communist schools in the Colony. Schedule 'C' gives examples of fees charged by individual schools in the various other categories.

2.

You will note that there is a wide range of fees charged by communist schools as, indeed, there is by all similar institutions in the private sector of education. Although there is some overlapping, generally speaking fees in communist schools are lower than other schools of the same grade in the private sector but are higher, in the main, than fees charged by subsidised and Government schools. At the middle school level, while communist school fees start lower than their Government counterparts, they extend beyond the range of fees charged in Government schools.

3.

From these schedules it will be seen that communist schools do not provide "cheap education". However, students attending any communist school can apply for remission of fees and this can range from 25% to complete remission. No accurate statistics are available on the number of students in communist schools who have obtained fees remission but it is known that some degree of remission, usually ranging from 25% to 50%, is given to children of trade union members who walked out from their jobs last year.

Comprehensive investigations are carried out on the families of students who apply for fees remission; although a communist background is not essential to obtain remission, it certainly assists. Students in receipt of complete fees remission can also obtain some assistance from the schools in the purchase of textbooks and stationery.

4.

While it is difficult to draw any firm conclusions from these statistics it would seem that the provision by Government of cheap school places is not, in itself, the answer to the problems presented by the communist schools.

(B.F. Slevin)

Director of Special Branch, for Commissioner of Police.

CONFIDENTIAL

10 OCT 196

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