TNAG-0473-FCO40-538-Hong-Kong-government-policy-on-education-1974 — Page 143

and directly employs about 43% of its economically active population,

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Without the continuous availability of properly trained and adaptable manpower, which is already in short supply in industry, the prospects of Hong Kong being able to compete for world markets, become more remote.

The Federation is of the opinion that the biggest stumbling block to Hong Kong getting the skilled manpower it needs now, and in the future, is the perpetuation of a primarily academic grammar school system which has failed to keep up with the times this system aims at preparing young people for a university education, thereby indirectly giving them the mistaken impression that all have the ability to obtain that education resulting in frustration when they fail to get there.

As a result of this educational system, the vast majority of the young people are normally not prepared, except as a last resort, to think of alternative careers other than entering university or white- collar jobs and many young people are either not working or have taken up industrial work feeling let down and frustrated because they were not prepared mentally or physically for such work. The road to white-collar jobs is congested and that to industrial jobs grossly under-used

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8. We also noted that, in a speech given by His Excellency the Governor, at the opening of the Vocational Training Exhibition on 8th May, 1972, attention was drawn to the need to correct the undesirable imbalance between the very large number of students in grammar schools and the limited number in technical and vocational programmes.

9. A number of authoritative statements were submitted to us of which the submission of the Grant Schools Council may be considered representative. The Council expressed concern over the rigid divisions in the existing educational system, for example the marked separation between the highly academic and the prevocational approach, and the question of whether the system of academic schools, albeit of a high standard, provides adequate preparation for all students to take their place in the community. The Council also expressed concern over the fact that most secondary schools follow a very academic and examina- tion-oriented curriculum and make little endeavour to encourage pupils to adopt a healthy attitude of mind towards skilled manual work.

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