TNAG-1073-FCO40-1323-Policy-of-the-Government-of-Hong-Kong-on-education-including-1981 — Page 144

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8.1

CONFIDENTIAL

DRAFT

Chapter 8

Financial Assistance for Pre-primary Services

The proposals in the Green Paper envisaged a uniform system

of assistance for child care centres and kindergartens. Representations

received from the public have indicated general support for these proposals

although some submissions have commented on the need to continue to provide

direct subventions to child care centres and others expressed the view that,

as a result of generally high levels of fees, the fee assistance proposed

was inadequate.

Financial Assistance for Pre-Primary Institutions

8.2

:

The Government recognises that in non-profit-making institutions

one of the more important elements in determining fee levels is the rental

which has to be paid for the premises. Rentals range widely from 50% per

square foot per month (or about $5 per square metre per month) for some non-

profit-making institutions inside public housing estates to $5 or more per square

foot (or about $50 or more per square metre) for premises outside the estates. It is

considered that wherever similar services are provided to similar standards

the fees charged by non-profit-making institutions should be broadly similar and

this is clearly difficult to achieve with such widely divergent rents. In order

to make this possible as well as to encourage the establishment of non-profit-

making pre-primary institutions, it is intended to reimburse rents for non-profit-

making child care centres and kindergartens both within and outside public

estates provided the accommodation is of an appropriate standard. Rents

incurred by non-profit-making child care centres in public housing estates are

already being reimbursed, and for institutions outside public housing estates,

the reimbursement will be subject to the Commissioner for Rating and Valuation

certifying that the rent paid is reasonable.

CONFIDENTIAL