ENG-1955 — Page 25

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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT

accounted for by increase of registered births over registered deaths. (See Population Chapter.) There are no signs of the Colony's refugees wishing to return on any large scale to China, and if the rate of natural increase continues to rise, as it shows every sign of doing, future measures for the provision of housing will have to be on an even greater scale than at present, calling for a mammoth effort on the part of the Government and the independent housing societies.

EDUCATION

The provision of more schools is another large problem which this increase in population is bringing to the fore. Post-war extension of education services has been on a consistently large scale. There are 107,000 more places in infant and primary schools today than there were in 1947.

But the Colony has now to face the fact that even develop- ment at this rate will have to be stepped up and improved on if it is to keep pace with the rising child population. During the year the Director of Education put forward a plan to create 26,000 additional school places a year, for seven years. The plan received the Government's approval in principle; the measures being taken to put it into effect are described in the Education Chapter.

The increased importance of manufacturing industry in the economic life of the Colony is producing a need for more technical training. The Hong Kong Chinese Manufacturers' Union took the initiative here by offering to contribute $1,000,000 toward the cost of new buildings for the Govern- ment Technical College, which is no longer large enough for the Colony's needs, provided the Government would match this with an equal contribution and provide a site. This led to a decision to build a new and up-to-date technical school in Kowloon at the cost of $6,000,000, to be completed in 1957-

TOURISM

Hitherto Government and responsible public opinion have been more or less united in the feeling that it would be unwise to give official encouragement to organized tourism, since, due to the tremendous number of traders and other visitors continually passing through the Colony, there would not be enough hotel accommodation of a sufficiently high