ENG-1953 — Page 116

HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1953

Expansion in scope and enrolment took place in technical education. A new vocational school for girls and a new government technical school for girls were built during the year, and in addition, a new trade school was started with government assistance. The Technical College day and evening departments, especially the latter, have shown remarkable in- creases. Enrolment for the Technical College Evening Classes, the School of Higher Chinese Studies and the Evening Institute, which includes adult education and literacy classes, rose from 2,072 in 1951/52 to 4,335 in 1952/53.

There was almost a fifty per cent increase in the number of entries for the Hong Kong School Certificate Examination and a further increase is anticipated in the coming year. The Chinese School Certificate Examination, recently introduced, is expected to raise the standard of education in the Chinese Middle Schools.

A syllabus and Text-books committee has been responsible for suggesting new syllabuses for the schools and encouraging the production of text-books in Chinese.

The great popularity of music, drama and art was evident in the Schools Music Festival, the Inter-School Dramatic com- petitions and in the exhibition of child art held during the year. Further, interest in extra-curricular activities can be seen in the increasing interest in physical education and sport, in schools and training colleges, in the entries for the School Garden competition and various handcraft and rural activity sections of the New Territories Agricultural Show.

Public Health

General Health. Although the Colony did not experience a major pestilence, the pattern of disease incidence reflected the insanitary environmental circumstances arising from widespread overcrowding in the urban areas, and the unhygienic conditions

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