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in senior secondary forms in the public sector found for at least 40
per cent of the 15-16 age group by 1979. The 1974 White Paper was thus a
blue-print for secondary education over the next decade. The target was
nine years of general education for all by 1979, i.e. six years in a
primary school followed by three years in a secondary school. All childrer
should follow a common course of general education throughout these nine
years: it was also intended that there should be a significant expansion
of places for those wishing to continue their education thereafter.
target of 1979 was subsequently brought forward one year, and it was
announced that from 1978 all primary school leavers opting for public-
sector places in secondary schools would be provided with three years of
junior secondary education which would be free. All children in Hong Kong
could now look forward to at least nine years of free education, all of
it to be compulsory as a further safeguard.
2.6
The
with
With the introduction of universal free junior secondary
education it was possible for the 1974 White Paper to envisage a more
appropriate system of allocation to replace the Secondary School Entrance
Examination (SSEE) with the emphasis on allocation rather than selection.
It was also decided that on the conclusion of the nine years general
course of education there should be a form of selection by which 40 per
cent of the 15-16 age groups would progress to senior secondary forms,
places provided in 'grammar and technical streams in the ratio of 6:4.
The government then turned to a consideration of senior secondary and
tertiary education, and after extensive public consultation issued a
white paper on the subject in 1978. This improved the quantitative and
qualitative targets for the 1980s, a major target now being the provision
of subsidised senior secondary places for about 60 per cent of the 15-year-
old population in 1981, rising to more than 70 per cent by 1986.
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