NOTHING TO BE Written IN THIS MARGIN
W(B)L 51-7406
NOTES ON MEMORANDUM ABOUT EDUCATIONAL
PROBLEMS IN HONG KONG HANDED BY THE
REV. G. L. SPEAK TO Mr. ANTHONY ROYLE,
MP
•
Much of Mr. Speak's memorandum is a statement of "problems demanding urgent solution"; little is devoted to practicable solutions. And unfortunately a great deal of it (e.g. the section on "The Department") is couched in intemperate,avehlabusive, language; we could not accept the denigratory Terms in which it deals with the personalities n vowed,
The paper fails to recognize :
2.
(a)
(b)
(c)
The basic problem of the enormous
of children of school aqt
numbers involved in relation to
population. Hong Kong has over one million young people in courses of one kind or another, out of
3.9 million. Let us say, one child being schooled for every two economically active adults -
at best.
The ratio is probably even lower.
he carry This throws an incredible burden
a very
on the economy and the revenues, and makes it essential to keep costs down if we are going to cover as
many children as possible.
in Hong Kong
But costs here are relatively high, especially in so far as teachers
salaries are concerned: and schools are built and equipped to high standards. Moreover, the
pressure from the educator is
always towards increasing costs.
They refuse to face the fact that costs must be lowered (as the Marsh/Sampson Report recognized) if
expansion is to take place.
The Department, operating as it does through many organizations (and
people like Mr.Speak are convinced
they can run better schools than the
Government can and demand a great deal of freedom of action) cannot e a dictatorship but must try to accommodate all the (very diverse)
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