TNAG-1449-FCO40-1953-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 78

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better geographical distribution of secondary places, but

it cannot produce an instant solution and there will, I am

afraid, be pressure on the supply of secondary places in

certain areas most notably the North-West New

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Territories - in the years immediately ahead.

4.

With regard to conversion of primary schools,

this is not a very satisfactory solution as it is

impossible to provide within such premises the range of

facilities and special rooms needed to meet the

requirements of the secondary curriculum. In these

circumstances, it would be preferable for a child to

travel to a properly-equipped secondary school than to

attend a substandard local school in converted premises.

A number of selected primary schools were converted in

1977, in response to the urgent need for additional places

to implement universal junior secondary education, but

plans are in hand to reprovision these schools to new

premises in those areas presently underprovided. For the

future, particularly in the case of new communities, where

a present demand for primary places will be followed by

increased demand for secondary places, school premises

will be designed with these subsequent requirements in

mind.