ENG-1969 — Page 136

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Education

THE number of students in all areas of education continues to increase. Detailed figures are given in Appendix XXVI, but some idea of this expansion can be gained from the fact that enrolment at the end of September in primary schools was 752,171 and in secondary schools it was 264,056 compared with 724,450 and 253,458 respectively in 1968. Altogether 1,196,301 pupils were enrolled in 2,730 schools, colleges and education centres, 63,260 more than last year's figure.

Significant features of the year have been a further reduction in school fees in government and government-aided primary schools; the approval in principle by Government of the introduction of a new type of school, known as a Junior Technical School; the introduction of machine-marked multiple-choice questions-in the Secondary School Entrance examination and the Hong Kong English Certificate of Education examinations in certain subjects; and the commencement in September of classes operated by the Morrison Hill Technical Institute.

In May Government appointed a Polytechnic Planning Com- mittee to plan a new Polytechnic to provide post-secondary vocational education in technical and commercial subjects up to the standard of a pass degree or professional qualification. It is envisaged that the Polytechnic will comprise the existing Technical College in Hung Hom, suitably expanded and improved, and a new sister institution, providing places for a total of 4,000 full-time and 20,000 part-time students by 1974.

With the beginning of the 1969-70 academic year, Government introduced a new scheme of student financing, under which public funds are made available for outright grants and interest-free loans to be made to needy students at the University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The adminis- tration of grants totalling about $2.5 million and loans totalling