TNAG-0534-FCO40-629-UK-aid-to-Hong-Kong-Polytechnic-and-technical-institutions-1975 — Page 69

.9

PENCE

IN CONFIDENCE

.3.

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, HONG KONG GOVERNMENT

I:

Responsibility for Recruitment of British Technical Teachers

16. The issue that dominated, and almost over-shadowed, my visit to the

Education Department was the question of whether TETOC was to

continue handling the recruitment requirements of the Technical

Education Branch in Britain or whether the work was to be transferred

to the Hong Kong Government Office in London. This even introduced

an element of uncertainty as to whether my time was not being

wasted.

17. It had, apparently, already been decided in principle that this

change should take place. But the initiative had come not from

bureaucratic minds in the Hong Kong Government but from the London

Office, and it was suggested that motivation lay largely in empire-

building on the part of Mr. S.T. Kidd the Commissioner and Mr. Cordon

incidentally,

White, about whom there is some jealousy in the Hong Kong Government

service. The ultimate intention was, I was informed, to build up

a technical unit in their recruitment section which would handle

recruitment for both the Technical Branch of the Education Department

and the Polytechnic as well.

18. Various aspects of this came up for discussion on a number of

occasions when I met Mr. Topley at the commencement of my visit,

constantly in discussion with Mr. Kingwell and his staff, and at a

meeting with the Assistant Directors of Education on 15th November.

TETOC' s basic reasons for continuing can be briefly summarised as

follows :

(1) It is a highly specialised type of recruitment which