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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT

Adult Education is provided through the classes of the Evening Institute, the Technical College Evening Department, the Evening School of Higher Chinese Studies and by private night schools. Enrolment in government institutions was as follows:

Evening Institute

Technical College Evening Department

Evening School of Higher Chinese Studies

4,990

4,715

154

Different types of evening courses designed to repair early educational deficiencies and improve employment prospects are organized under the Evening Institute. There were 299 classes, including 101 English classes, 21 post-primary extension classes, 27 teachers' classes for art, music, handwork, woodwork and domestic science, 57 classes on general background education and 86 classes on practical background education such as sewing and knitting, housecraft and woodwork. Most of these classes are held in government school premises in both rural and urban areas.

The Evening School of Higher Chinese Studies was established in 1951 to provide three-year courses in General Arts and Com- merce. These courses are intended for men and women who have passed the School Certificate Examinations and are eager to spend their evenings in pursuit of advanced studies through the medium of the Chinese language.

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Eight Adult Education and Recreation Centres are run to provide a wide variety of activities, recreational, cultural and creative, particularly for the poorer sections of the community. Nominal fees are charged for specific instructional courses but not for recreational and group activities. The organizers and supervisors of the centres are mostly government teachers who have gone through a nine-month part-time training course. Centres publish a quarterly Bulletin and organize various committees to plan the programmes of activities. The total number of centre members has risen from 3,524 in 1957 to 11,127 in 1958, and the nightly attendance for formal instruction and recreational activities ranges from 300 to 600 at each centre.

Music, Drama and the Arts occupy an important place in the school curriculum and in extra-curricular activities. In 1958 the Schools' Music Festival celebrated its Tenth Anniversary. To mark the occasion, many new features were introduced. A record number

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