TNAG-0346-FCO40-382-Communist-threat-to-education-in-Hong-Kong-communist-schools-1972 — Page 55

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58.

Foes charged in communist schools are generally lower then those of private schools of equivalent grade, but wore higher than fees at Government and aided schools before free primary education was brought in. At Government and aided primary schools assistance is given with books and stationery but pupils at all communist schools can be given complete remission of fees if necessary, as well as assistance with incidental costs such as books,

stationery and travel.

RELATIONS WITH GOVERNMENT

59.

Government control impinges more directly on education than any field in which the communists are active in the Colony. For their part, the communists realize now, even if they forgot it in 1967 that, to exert maxinum influence in Hong Kong they must come to terms with the Colonial power. Government, on its side, must sometimes compromise with China. Some of the wider implications are considered in a later section: the following paragraphs merely indicate some of the ways in which Education Department and the communist schools are at odds.

Inspections

60.

Education Department carry out two kinds of inspection in all schools, supervisory, to ensure that schools are complying with the provisions of the Education Ordinance and advisory, designed to improve the standards and methods of teaching. During confrontation, inspections were suspended because of harassment, but both types of inspection have now been resumed.

61.

As far as supervisory inspections are concerned, it is of considerable, interest that communist schools have a regular drill, whereby excess pupils and unregistered teachers can disappear by a back entrance in the event of an unexpected call by E.D. officers. The problem of excess pupils calls for

further comment. The difference between the actual cnrolment and that declared by law to E.D. has, in the past, been estimated at 5%. Indications are that this figure is too low. This means that there are probably 1,800 more students in their schools than the communists admit. No reasonable estimate of the numbers of unauthorised and unqualified teaching staff is possible.

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