ENGLISH AND CHINESE LANGUAGE SCHOOLS

Mr Goh Tong Liang asked the Minister for Education-

(a) what does he propose to do with the nearly 9,000 children who will not get places in the English-language schools in 1957;

(b) how many children of school-age of both sexes are there who cannot get places in the Chinese-language schools in 1957.

Mr Chew Swee Kee: Mr Speaker, Sir, (a) the first question is somewhat misleading. It can only be satisfactorily answered if I explain briefly what our aim is and how far we have succeeded in achieving it. The first object we set out to achieve was to provide enough schools and to train enough teachers to give every child a six-year primary education. As the primary age group is now increasing at the rate of some 20,000 a year, this meant that 20,000 extra places a year had to be provided even to maintain the existing position with the age of admission to Government schools seven plus. In fact, more than 20,000 additional places are being provided each year, most of them in new Government schools, so that it has been possible to lower the age of admission to about six years eight months. Parents of children born in 1949, that is, seven years old on 1st January, 1957, and 1950 six-year olds were asked to register in August last year. Of 11,715 seven-year olds who were registered, every single one has been offered a place. Of 15,685 six-year olds, 6,610 have been offered places. The others will be given priority of admission, according to age and place of residence, to schools which will be opened later this year. Those who are not so admitted will be guaranteed places in 1958. The position this year has been complicated by late registrations and by the need to use some of the new Government primary school buildings to house Chinese middle school pupils.

(b) it is impossible to give a definite answer to this question. Obviously it is easier for children to find places in some localities than others. There are too few schools in some of the crowded city areas and too few sites available for building new ones. On the other hand, it is not possible to build schools easily accessible to all children in rural areas. In general, however, the large numbers of children aged six and even five years old who are admitted to Chinese schools show that there is no real shortage of places. Fully-aided schools will, however, be required to follow the Government practice of giving priority of admission to older children.