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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL WELFARE:-I have said that I have not got full details about the income of this family on the table today, and I would prefer if I could inform Mr. CHEONG-LEEN and other members separately on this matter. I think if we get into detailed figures of the income of this family, it is going to take this Council quite a long time.
MRS. ELLIOTT:--May I say that if what Mr. Hilton CHEONG-LEEN has told us is correct, and it seems that it is correct, that the family would not have been given compassionate resettlement, I am alarmed at the inaccuracy of the first report.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-All I can say, Mr. Chairman, is that this is just information that was given to me by this family and I don't have any way of checking. But I would be quite prepared for the Director of Social Welfare to go into this further.
(11)
MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:
In April this year when I moved a motion recommending that the Director of Education should be a member of the Urban Council, I asked that a list containing details of 3,125 children of primary school age who were not attending school at the Wong Tat Sin Estate be referred to the Education Department; the Department replied to me on 3rd June, 1965 that this had been done and that I would be advised in due course what results had been achieved with regard to placing these children in schools? Can the Chairman please advise what results have been achieved?
THE COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT replied as follows:-
The list of 3,125 children of primary school age to which Mr. CHEONG-LEEN refers was compiled by the Resettlement Department in 1964 and concerned children living in the Wong Tai Sin Estate who were not attending school as at the end of July 1964. In laying this list on the table at the May meeting of the Council, Mr. CHEONG-LEEN asked that it be referred to the Education Department with a request to the Director to do everything in his power to give these children an opportunity for a primary school education.
The attention of the Education Department was drawn to the problem after the beginning of the summer term. At the request of the Education Department my staff conducted an investigation in June to ascertain the reason
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why children of primary school age in Wong Tai Sin were not attending school when there were some 1,700 vacancies in primary schools in the Estate and other vacancies in nearby estates. The reasons are essentially social and economic: many parents who go out to work prefer to keep their school-age children at home to look after younger children and to help the family income with various simple home industries. Other parents feel that, as they cannot afford to send their children to secondary schools, there is little point in keeping them at primary school longer than the time needed to obtain enough basic knowledge to earn a living. In other cases, when parents are prepared to send their children to school, the children are too old to attend Primary I and are unable to catch up in the class appropriate to their age.
If, when enrolment is complete, there are vacancies in the estate schools for the forthcoming term, then, on behalf of the Director of Education, I shall see that this is brought to the notice of residents in these estates. The Director of Education cannot compel parents to send their children to school, but he will use his good offices to try to obtain free places in nearby Government and aided primary schools for children of primary school age whose parents wish them to attend school but cannot afford the school fees. This is provided that such cases are brought to his notice by responsible authorities.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-May I ask the Commissioner for Resettlement a supplementary question through you? Since the Commissioner is responsible for the management of resettlement estates and for the overall welfare of the residents in these estates, would he agree that it is a crying shame and disgrace in this Colony that there are young children who are not going to school in a place where there are vacant school places, simply because they have to stay at home to bolster the family income by doing handicraft industry and simple home industries?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-Sir, this is a matter of expressing my opinion and under Standing Orders I am not in a position to express such an opinion.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: Mr. Chairman, may I ask you a question then? The Commissioner says in his reply that parents feel that they cannot afford to send their children to secondary schools because of high school fees, so wouldn't you agree, Mr. Chairman, since you are a member of Legislative Council, that Government did the wrong thing by increasing fees in secondary schools? (Laughter).
Page 141 of 382
Page 141 of 382
260
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL WELFARE:-I have said that I have not got full details about the income of this family on the table today, and I would prefer if I could inform Mr. CHEONG-LEEN and other members separately on this matter. I think if we get into detailed figures of the income of this family, it is going to take this Council quite a long time.
MRS. ELLIOTT:--May I say that if what Mr. Hilton CHEONG-LEEN has told us is correct, and it seems that it is correct, that the family would not have been given compassionate resettlement, I am alarmed at the inaccuracy of the first report.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-All I can say, Mr. Chairman, is that this is just information that was given to me by this family and I don't have any way of checking. But I would be quite prepared for the Director of Social Welfare to go into this further.
(11)
MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:
In April this year when I moved a motion recommending that the Director of Education should be a member of the Urban Council, I asked that a list containing details of 3,125 children of primary school age who were not attending school at the Wong Tat Sin Estate be referred to the Education Department; the Department replied to me on 3rd June, 1965 that this had been done and that I would be advised in due course what results had been achieved with regard to placing these children in schools? Can the Chairman please advise what results have been achieved?
THE COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT replied as follows:-
The list of 3,125 children of primary school age to which Mr. CHEONG-LEEN refers was compiled by the Resettlement Department in 1964 and concerned children living in the Wong Tai Sin Estate who were not attending school as at the end of July 1964. In laying this list on the table at the May meeting of the Council, Mr. CHEONG-LEEN asked that it be referred to the Education Department with a request to the Director to do everything in his power to give these children an opportunity for a primary school education.
The attention of the Education Department was drawn to the problem after the beginning of the summer term. At the request of the Education Department my staff con- ducted an investigation in June to ascertain the reason
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
261
why children of primary school age in Wong Tai Sin were not attending school when there were some 1,700 vacancies in primary schools in the Estate and other vacancies in nearby estates. The reasons are essentially social and economic: many parents who go out to work prefer to keep their school-age children at home to look after younger children and to help the family income with various simple home industries. Other parents feel that, as they cannot afford to send their children to secondary schools, there is little point in keeping them at primary school longer than the time needed to obtain enough basic knowledge to earn a living. In other cases, when parents are prepared to send their children to school, the children are too old to attend Primary I and are unable to catch up in the class appropriate to their age.
If, when enrolment is complete, there are vacancies in the estate schools for the forthcoming term, then, on behalf of the Director of Education, I shall see that this is brought to the notice of residents in these estates. The Director of Education cannot compel parents to send their children to school, but he will use his good offices to try to obtain free places in nearby Government and aided primary schools for children of primary school age whose parents wish them to attend school but cannot afford the school fees. This is provided that such cases are brought to his notice by responsible authorities.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-May I ask the Commissioner for Resettlement a supplementary question through you? Since the Commissioner is responsible for the management of resettlement estates and for the overall welfare of the residents in these estates, would he agree that it is a crying shame and disgrace in this Colony that there are young children who are not going to school in a place where there are vacant school places, simply because they have to stay at home to bolster the family income by doing handicraft industry and simple home indus- tries?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT :· -Sir, this is a matter of ex- pressing my opinion and under Standing Orders I am not in a position to express such an opinion.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: Mr. Chairman, may I ask you a question then? The Commissioner says in his reply that parents feel that they cannot afford to send their children to secondary schools because of high school fees, so wouldn't you agree, Mr. Chairman, since you are a member of Legislative Council, that Government did the wrong thing by increasing fees in secondary schools? (Laughter).
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.