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EDUCATION

Studies (430) and 12 Adult Education and Recreation Centres (30,809). The Evening Institute offers different types of courses designed to make up education deficiencies and to improve employ- ment prospects. There are English classes ranging from Primary 5 to Lower Form VI standard; teachers' classes for Art, Music, Handwork, Woodwork, Domestic Science and the Teaching of English; rural classes with emphasis on literacy and simple arithmetic; post-primary extension classes providing an additional three years' training with a practical bias for those who do not anticipate further education at the grammar school level; and secondary school classes leading to the two School Certificate Examinations. General background classes provide elementary school education with special reference to-adult needs and interests and also enable students to study home-management, housecraft, baby-care, cooking, sewing and knitting. In the woodwork classes, students learn simple carpentry and furniture-making for house- hold needs. The total number of classes is 476. The classes are held in 61 centres in the urban and rural areas. Other forms of adult education are provided by the Department of Extra-Mural Studies of the University of Hong Kong, private night schools and voluntary organizations.

The Evening School of Higher Chinese Studies provides facilities for graduates of Chinese Senior Middle Schools who wish to proceed to more advanced courses in Chinese studies. At present this School provides a three year course in general arts, leading to a diploma issued by the Education Department. Candidates for admission are required to have a Chinese School Certificate or to show evidence that they have reached an equivalent standard. With the permission of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, classes are held at the University for two hours each evening on five evenings per week. Among the subjects taught are Chinese Literature, Philosophy, Sociology, Philology, Chinese Poetry, Novels and Drama. English Language and Literature also occupy an important part of the curriculum. Most of the students are teachers in the day time.

ADULT EDUCATION AND RECREATION CENTRES

The scheme for combining education with recreation started when the first Adult Education and Recreation Centre was opened