TNAG-1073-FCO40-1323-Policy-of-the-Government-of-Hong-Kong-on-education-including-1981 — Page 404

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secondary education, the purpose being to fill

the gap of two years between the end of primary

schooling and the statutory minimum age for

industrial employment an arrangement which had

proved to be very unpopular and in the event not

particularly beneficial);

(v) not to increase fees in urban and rural primary

schools;

(vi) to increase the allowable rate of primary school

fee remission by introducing an overall primary

school fee remission rate of 20 per cent (it was

thought clearly preferable to proceed towards a

system of free primary education by increasing

the allowable rate of fee remission rather than

by an all-round reduction in fees, hence helping

those whose need was greatest);

(vii) to increase the number of pupils admitted to

government and aided secondary (grammar and

technical) schools and to subsidised places

in selected private schools to between 15 and

20 per cent of the total number of pupils

completing the primary course;

(viii) in the expectation that an additional 50 - 60

per cent of pupils leaving the primary schools

would find places in private secondary schools,

to subsidise at least 1,500 places per year in

private secondary schools (to include, them in

the 15-20 per cent mentioned in (vii));

(ix)

to increase government and aided secondary

school fees as follows: