tenants possess sophisticated electrical appliances: electric rice cookers are very common, and even refrigerators no longer attract surprised comment. It is not unusual for a tenant to spend over $1,000 on initial improvements and furniture for his new home, and some may lay out $3,000 or more in this way. In fact, it seems that the majority of tenants intend to create a flat which, however small, will serve as the family's permanent home in the foreseeable future. This process usually takes about three weeks after the initial rent payment and handing over of the tenancy card and, in the newer types of blocks, it is during this period also that the necessary arrangements are made with the Water Authority and with the public utility companies for a water supply and electrical connexion.
PRIMARY EDUCATION AND WELFARE
85. The resettlement estates, with their large concentrations of people, present both a great need and a great opportunity for welfare work of all descriptions. Voluntary agencies have, from the start, been quick to accept this challenge, and continue to seek fresh outlets for their activities as new estates are opened.
86. As was mentioned earlier, one of the first improvements to the Mark I blocks was to strengthen the flat roofs and to fence them in, thus providing additional recreational space. Before long, these roofs were turned over for use as boys' and girls' clubs or primary schools, with penthouses added at either end. From the start, a nominal rent of $1 per month has been charged for these premises, and school fees are now limited to a maximum of $90 a year per pupil for a half-day and $120 a year for a full-day primary school (the fees normally being collected in 10 monthly instalments). Until 1965, the maximum fee was $60, the increase being approved to encourage the payment of higher salaries to the teachers and the provision of improved facilities so that the schools might qualify for a subsidy under the Education Depart- ment's subsidy code. By the end of March 1967, 314 rooftops were used as schools, 46 as boys' and girls' clubs, 21 as recreation centres and 16 as vocational training centres.
87. But the rooftops were insufficient to meet the need for schools and welfare facilities in the early estates, and ground floor rooms in selected blocks of both the Mark I and Mark II designs were also reserved for these purposes and allocated to suitable voluntary agencies. At present there are 38 ground floor schools in operation, run like the
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