HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ·1st October 1971.
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aimed to provide a full five years of aided secondary education for an increasing number of our children; first, for up to 20 per cent of primary school leavers, and now for up to 20 per cent of all children in the appropriate age group. A great number of other children, of course, attend secondary schools in the private sector: indeed, 80% of children go on to some form of post-primary education.
To those who object that this is still less aid than can be offered to children in developed countries, I would like just to point out the dramatic disparity in the number of children here and in those countries. For example, whereas in the United Kingdom about 16.8 per cent of the population are children in the primary and secondary age group, here the figure is 28 per cent. The proportionately much greater task that faces us here in education has always to be borne in mind.
The raw figures are perhaps worth recording. In the last ten years primary school enrolment has risen from 450,000 to 761,000 and secondary school enrolment from 89,000 to 270,000; while the number of Form V candidates sitting the English and Chinese Certificates of Education Examinations has increased from 5,000 to 37,000 and this last figure is I think particularly significant, as it indicates that about 40 per cent of all children are now receiving a full five years of secondary education. All in all, 1971 will, I think, be seen as an important mile- stone in the history of education here in Hong Kong.
With these advances in basic education comes, of course, the need to improve the quality of teaching generally, something which I am sure the new Educational Television Service will help to do. We also need to expand our special education facilities for the handicapped, and plans have been drawn up to this end; though I would add that our existing facilities are much better than frequently represented. In the field of vocational education it has been decided to proceed initially with the construction of two further technical institutes as soon as possible, to augment the existing one at Morrison Hill, subject of course to this Council approving the necessary expenditure. Sites for two more technical institutes are earmarked, but are not immediately available. In this area, also, the first Board of Governors of the new Hong Kong Polytechnic should shortly be able to start making this important institution take real shape.
A development of importance to the Universities has been the setting up of a University Grants Committee. Both Universities are expanding steadily, and should reach their combined planning target of 6,000 students by 1973-74. In the ten years, 1964-1974, therefore, starting from a figure of 3,500 students, the expansion will have been of the order of 71 per cent.
Turning now to public health, I wonder if it is fully appreciated how remarkable our record has been since the war. In circumstances
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