TNAG-0473-FCO40-538-Hong-Kong-government-policy-on-education-1974 — Page 165

as even a distribution of places as is possible in relation to the distribu- tion of pupils. This is done by basing the distribution of schools on the Secondary Planning Units delineated by the Public Works Depart-

ment.

81. Some uneveness in the overall distribution of school places has occurred and will continue to occur in terms both of the total number of secondary places and of the various types of places provided, largely because of historical and geographical circumstances.

82. It is imperative that each broad locality should be provided with a balanced distribution of types of places under the proposed expansion programme. We recommend, therefore, that there needs to be a margin for exceeding targets for the whole of Hong Kong when necessary to allow for provision of the varieties of secondary education in each geographical area, and to permit a reasonable degree of flexibility in forward planning.

83. There are at present four major methods by which school buildings are provided:

(i) Government Schools are planned and constructed by the Public Works Department according to a standard plan which is modified to meet the physical requirements of individual sites. (ii) Government Aided and Assisted Schools are planned and constructed by private architects and quantity surveyors engaged by the sponsors. They are built to a standard schedule of accommodation in accordance with the dictates of the site and the requirements of the sponsors. All stages of the progress of such projects are supervised by the Education Department and the Public Works Department.

(iii) Estate Secondary Schools are to be provided in public housing estates by the Public Works Department as an integral part of the estate building programme and by the completed building then being handed over to sponsors who will provide furniture and equipment. This is the way in which primary schools are provided in public housing estates.

(iv) Private schools have their initial plans examined by the Educa- tion Department to ensure that they comply with the require- ments of the Education Ordinance. The school sponsors then proceed in accordance with all other requirements of the law as would any private developer.

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