approval should be given if any reasonable application is received.
12
Regarding the letter from Mr CHAN Chung-ling and others, as the authors have no official locus standi in the matter, it is not proposed that the Government should reveal to them its views on the disposal of the money. Accordingly, it is not proposed to add to the reply that the Secretary to the Committee of Inquiry has already sent.
Appraisal
13
The Director of Education has sounded a cautionary note about the future. He points out that the Committee, while not abstaining completely from criticism of the 16 dissident teachers, has in general adopted a charitable, even idealistic, interpretation of their actions. It is also permissible, and consistent with the known facts, to take a much more sceptical view, particularly of their motivation. Indeed this latter view is widely held in educational circles. It is also possible to opine that the encouragement given to pupils to question authority was not intended so much to stimulate scepticism as to bring about a loyalty to the opinions and acceptance of the authority of a different body of persons. Moreover, many human beings are not entirely consistent, and it is possible for a certain genuine, long-term idealism to co-exist with entirely un- justifiable or unacceptable practical objectives. By promoting and establishing the Ng Yuk School, in accordance with the Committee's Interim Report, the Government has "bent over backwards" to be seen to be reasonable and to give the dissidents the benefit of the doubt. This has not been done without cost in terms of teacher loyalty, and it will be important, from now on, to avoid giving the impression that any sufficiently noisy and aggressive group can secure most of its demands, provided a protective veneer of liberalism and progressive ideology can be assumed.
Eventually
Public Relations
14
There was considerable interest in the Huang Committee's Interim Report, but the opening of classes in the new Ng Yuk School, one of its principal recommendations, in the event gave rise to little publicity, and there has been little press or public interest since then. It is considered that the Final Report is likely to be acceptable to the public at large, who would see it as a satisfactory end to an issue which might have had more serious repercussions on the com- munity had it not been handled judiciously and expeditiously. However, its publication is likely to rekindle the interest of some of those in educational circles and of certain pressure groups previously involved
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.