ENG-1970 — Page 27

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enrolment of 555 students on full-time day courses, 712 students on block-release and day-release courses, and 8,581 students on evening and miscellaneous short courses; giving a total enrolment of 9,848 students engaged in a wide variety of courses at the craft and junior technician levels. Many of these courses have been started on the recommendations of the Industrial Training Advisory Committee. This committee which through its sub-committees covers almost the whole spectrum of Hong Kong industry, is preparing a report which is expected to include recommendations for the provision of further technical institutes, the establishment of a modern appren- ticeship system throughout industry, and permanent machinery to plan and oversee industrial training. In the meantime Government is considering the need to set up at least one more technical institute in advance of this report.

The two universities continued to make good progress with their development plans. A total of $93 million was voted from public funds towards their capital and recurrent expenditure during 1970-1. The numbers of full-time students increased to 2,990 at the Univer- sity of Hong Kong, and to 2,342 at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Work also continued on the planning of a new institution for higher technical education, which is to provide post-secondary voca- tional education in technical and commercial subjects up to the standard of a professional qualification, or, in some cases, a pass degree. It is so far envisaged that this new institution will incor- porate the existing Technical College at Hung Hom, suitably ex- panded and improved, as well as a new sister institution to be built in Wan Chai: together it is hoped that these will provide for some 4,000 full-time and 20,000 part-time students by about 1975.

These advances in education are already leading to an improve- ment in the quality and potential of young men and women begin- ning their working lives. The progress achieved must be set against the formidable fact that some 35 per cent of the population are under 14 years of age-already roughly one-quarter of the whole population are undergoing courses of instruction of one kind or another.

At the same time, the need to improve working conditions to the maximum extent compatible with Hong Kong's continued economic