TNAG-1361-FCO40-1807-Hong-Kong-Hansard-reports-and-minutes-of-the-meetings-of-the-1985 — Page 328

kindergarten education. This increase will bring in an additional $21 million a year to partially offset the above

expenditure.

Government argues against this move of buying Form IV & V places in private schools for two reasons: (1) that there are not enough places to be bought in the more satisfactory private schools, and government is unprepared to sacrifice quality by buying from unsatisfactory private schools; and (2) that public funds are likely to be transferred to profits by school operators rather than to upgrade the standard and facilities of such private institutions.

On the question of quality, we are presently buying a

total of 70,000 Form I to Form III places from private schools. If we could buy for Form I to III as an interim measure while the school building programme is being implemented, we can equally buy for Form IV & V as an interim measure. As for the question of profits, government could

exercise stricter control and supervision to ensure that

subsidies will be used in service and facilities.

The alternative is to speed up the school building programme so that the interim measure of buying places in private schools for Form IV & V, then the entire school building programme should be rescheduled to enable the phasing

3 out of the JSEA in 1988. There are 3/4 years between now and the opening of the 1988 school term. I cannot be convinced that with typical Hong Kong efficiency we cannot meet the deadline. It took the government three years after its announcement in 1978 to implement to JSEA in 1981. To take twice that time to phase it out would be hardly acceptable.

report.

I would like to refer briefly to other points of the