ENG-1947 — Page 94

Within the urban area in 1941 there were 649 schools. The vast majority of these-529 in number-were private schools: 91 were subsidized, and of the remainder 9 were Government and 20 grant-aided schools. The Government schools gave education to 1,500 primary and 1,199 secondary pupils, and the Grant Schools to 6,346 primary and 3,274 secondary pupils. Owing to the destruction of records no accurate information is available as to the number of pupils being instructed in subsidiz- ed and private schools in the urban area before the war, but in the whole Colony subsidized schools accounted for 16,353 primary and 6,931 secondary pupils, while the private schools had an enrolment of 50,814 primary and 25,951 secondary pupils. The Grant Schools had no part in the field of rural education but two Government primary schools catered for 400 pupils in the rural areas.

The educational fabric of the Colony suffered severely as a result of hostilities and the subsequent Japanese occupation. Not only was considerable damage done to school buildings of the Colony, the three largest. King's, and Queen's Colleges and Belilios Girls' School, being completely destroyed, but there was also a heavy loss of school books, equipment and furniture, much of which was used as firewood during the period of enemy occupation. The greatest damage however, was not the material damage, but the great degree in which education was interrupted during the war years. One effect of this was to increase the rate of juvenile delinquency and this problem has lent urgency to the efforts of the Education authorities to repair the Colony's educational structure.

During 1946, considerable progress was made in repairing the Colony's educational facilities and the year 1947 has seen yet further progress made. The great shortage of school accommodation and the keen demand for education have led the education authorities to adopt the expedient of housing two schools in one building, one session taking place in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Each session has its own headmaster and staff. Although this results in a slightly shorter number of hours tuition it enables a school which would normally cater for 200 pupils to provide education now for 400 and it is amply justified by the necessity for providing education for as many children as possible. An interesting feature of the general expansion which has taken place in education since the war is the very large increase in the number of Government schools in which instruction is carried on in Chinese. Before the war, there were only two such schools, but 12 are now in operation.

The most marked progress has been in the sphere of primary education. This was so even in 1946 and the trend has continued throughout the year under review. Government schools now cater for 3,280 pupils, a total more than twice as great as in 1941

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