Education in Tai Po:
From the Founding of Rural Normal
School to the Demise of Village Schools
POON Shuk Wah
ThedevelopmentofeducationinTaiPohasgenerally
beenconsistentwiththatintherestoftheNewTerritories.
LikeotherdistrictsintheNewTerritories,educationinTai
Powasinitiallyprovidedinprivatestudyhalls("sishu")and
organisedbyclanvillages.Duringtheearly20thcentury,
theHongKongGovernmentbeganprovidingsubsidiesto
theseprivatevillageschools,aswellasbuildinggovernment
schools.After the Second Sino-JapaneseWar, a large
numberofvillageschoolsweresetup,withsupportfromthe
Government,tomeetincreasingdemandforeducationasa
resultofrefugeescomingtoHongKongfromChinaduring
the1940sto1950s.Beforethe1970s,TaiPowasconfronted
providersofeducationuntiltheGovernmentparticipated
withaveryseriousshortageofsecondaryschoolplaces,
aswasthecaseinotherdistrictsintheNewTerritories.It
wasmoredifficultforprimaryschoolpupilstocontinue
withsecondaryeducationatthetime,thanforsecondary
school graduates today to go on to tertiary education.
However, since the 1990s, the education scene in Hong
Konghasreversedties,fromfacingashortageofeducation
supplytoashortageofstudentsduetothecontinuously
decliningbirthrate.Asaresult,villageschoolsintheNew
Territories could not compete with the new millennium
schoolsestablishedbytheGovernment,andtheurbanisation
ofthevillages,coupledwiththeGovernment'sresourcebasededucationpolicy,causedtheeventualdisappearance
ofruralschools.Nevertheless,TaiPo'seducationhistoryhas
twodevelopmentsthathavenotbeenobservedintherest
oftheNewTerritories:thefirstgovernment-fundedEnglish
primaryschoolandthefirstruralnormalschool(institutefor
teachertraining)werebothestablishedinTaiPo.Letusnow
turntothisfascinatingeducationhistoryandexaminethe
socialandpoliticalconditionsbehindit.
onWanTauKokLaneinTaiPo.TheSouthernandNorthern
in the education sector. For example, the Man family in
Tai Hang Heung established NgaiYuenTong during the
Daoguang Reign of the Qing Dynasty (1821-1850), and
theTangs inTai PoTau established King Law Ka Shuk
(KingLawFamilyPrivateStudyHall)inthe11thyearof
theTongzhiReignoftheQingDynasty(1872).KingLaw
Ka Shuk is now a declared monument. 1When the New
TerritoriescameunderBritishcontrolin1899,TaiPobecame
thecolonialgovernment'sadministrativecentrefortheNew
Territories.Duringthe1900s,theGovernmentestablished
fourpolicestationsintheNewTerritories,oneofwhichwas
DistrictOfficeswereestablishedintheNewTerritoriesin
1906,andtheNorthernDistrictOfficewasestablishedin
Tai Po Market. 2Although the NewTerritories was only
underleaseandtheHongKongGovernmentdidnotpayas
muchattentiontoitsdevelopmentasHongKongIslandand
Kowloon,theGovernment'sroleinprovidingeducationin
theNewTerritoriesshouldnotbeunderestimated.Political
changes in Hong Kong have brought about changes in
educationinTaiPo,namelytheestablishmentofgovernment
schools and the introduction of the English curriculum.
In the early 20 th century, the Hong Kong Government
established a government primary school in each of the
threeadministrativedistrictsintheNewTerritories,Yuen
Long,PingShanandTaiPo.Therewasoneteacherforeach
governmentschool,buttheeducationprovidedwasnotfree.
Eachstudentpaidaschoolfeeof50centspermonth(atthe
time,theschoolfeeforQueen'sCollegewasfivedollarsa
month).3Yetinspiteoftheschoolfees,somevillagersstill
senttheirchildrentothegovernmentschools.Partofthe
motivationforsendingchildrentothemoderngovernment
Initial Government Participation
in Education in the New Territories:
Establishment of Government and
Subsidised Schools
schools came from the fact that China was undergoing
As in the rest of Hong Kong and southern China,
private study halls run by clan villages were the main
Territoriestochoosegovernmentschoolsovertraditional
educationreforminthelateQingDynasty.Asearlyasthe
1870s,youngChinesestudentsfromChinawerebeingsent
totheUnitedStatesforeducation.In1905,theQingCourt
abolishedthenationalcivilexamination,andmodernschools
withamoderncurriculumwereestablishedinmanyregions
acrossthecountry.ThisencouragedvillagersintheNew
educationofferedinsishu.
256
theUniversity,butthisaccomplishmentwasincludedin
theadministrativereportoftheHongKongGovernment.
In1938,theaverageenrolmentpermonthwas107atthis
Englishprimaryschool.6
Although government funded English education
was available inTai Po, the private study halls operated
byclanvillagesremainedthemostimportantproviderof
localeducation.Inthe1910s,theHongKongGovernment
begansubsidisingprivatestudyhallsinvillagesintheNew
Territories.50privatestudyhallswereselectedfromthe
existing260,andsubsidieswereprovidedonthebasisof
studentenrolmentandqualityofeducationprovided.7In
1924,therewereabout100schoolsintheNewTerritories
receiving government subsidies, and they had a total of
3,206students,ofwhich279werefemale.InTaiPoalone,
thereweretwosubsidisedschoolsinTaiPoMarketandthey
had66students(twowerefemale)and37students(twentythreewerefemale)respectively.Theyreceivedanannual
subsidyfromtheGovernmentof180dollarsand120dollars
respectively(seeFigure1).8Besidesprovidingsubsidies,
theGovernmentwasalsoconcernedwithimprovingteacher
qualityattheprivatestudyhalls,aswellasintroducinganew
curriculum.Unfortunately,theprivatestudyhallsdidnot
benefitfromthetwoChinesevernacularnormalschoolson
HongKongIslandbecausegraduatesoftheseschoolswere
notwillingtoworkintheNewTerritories.Theonlysolution
atthetimewastoestablishateacher-traininginstitutein
theNewTerritories.Inthe1920s,TaiPoVernacularNormal
Schoolwasestablishedtotrainteachersforschoolsinthe
NewTerritories.
257
Promoting Chinese Language
Education: Establishment of Tai Po
Vernacular Normal School
TheproposaltoestablishaChinesevernacularnormal
school in the NewTerritories was first raised byWong
KwokFongin1924,InspectorofSchoolsatthetime(he
laterwentontobecometheprincipaloftheGovernmentfundedChineseVernacularNormalSchool).Anativeof
Zhongshan,Guangdong,WongstudiedatQueen'sCollege
andtheDepartmentofEducationofHongKongUniversity.9
Hisproposalwasacceptedin1926,andasTaiPowasthe
Hong Kong Government's administrative centre for the
NewTerritories,theChinesevernacularnormalschoolwas
naturallyestablishedthere.Tocomprehendthesignificance
oftheChinesevernacularnormalschools,weshouldfirst
understandthepubliceducationpolicyoftheHongKong
Governmentinthe1910sand1920s,andhowadjustments
hadbeenmadeduetothepoliticalenvironmentofthetime.
During the 19 th Century, English education was
muchheavilyemphasizedinHongKong,bothatschools
establishedbymissionaries(suchasSt.Paul'sCollege)and
governmentschools(suchasCentralSchool,laterrenamed
Queen'sCollege).Thispreference,however,changedduring
the 1910s. Before and after the 1911 Revolution, many
ChineselanguageschoolsemergedinHongKong.These
wereestablishedbyintellectualsfromMainlandChinawho
maintainedacloserelationshipwithChina,andteachers
promoted revolutionary ideas in these schools. In 1912,
theEducationDepartmentofGuangdongProvinceinvited
ChineseschoolsinHongKongtoregisterwiththeChinese
Government.10TheHongKongGovernmentwasconcerned,
and implemented a number of policies to strengthen
supervisionofChineseschoolsinHongKong.InSeptember
of1911,theHongKongGovernmentestablishedtheChinese
VernacularEducationBoard,withtheintentofsettingup
governmentChineseschoolsandsubsidiseprivateChinese
schools.11In1913,theGovernmentissuedthefirstregulation
governingallpublicandprivateeducationprovidersinHong
Kong,whichrequiredschoolfacilitiesandhygienetomeet
A Journey through Time
AccordingtoareportbytheSecretaryofEducation,
enrolmentinthegovernmentschoolinTaiPowashigher
thancounterpartsinYuenLongandLongPing.In1907,for
example,therewere23studentsinYuenLong,13inPing
Shan,but39inTaiPo.4TheGovernmentwaspleasedwith
theperformanceoftheschool,andchangeditintoanEnglish
schoolin1910.Studentenrolmentcontinuedtogrow.5By
1927,therewasanaverageof57attendeesatTaiPoEnglish
Schooleachmonth.Infact,onestudentgraduatingfromthis
primaryschool,finishedsecondaryeducationandobtained
passinggradesfortheHongKongUniversity'smatriculation
exam.Itwasnotknownwhetherheeventuallyenrolledat
government-setstandards.Moreimportantly,theschools
were prohibited from using "undesirable" textbooks. 12
Besides exercising supervision of the Chinese schools,
the Hong Kong Government was also concerned with
improvingthequalityofChineseschoolteachers.In1920,
theVernacularNormalSchoolforMenwasestablished,and
theVernacularNormalSchoolforWomenwasfoundedat
BeliliosPublicSchool.13
The contact between the two races is for mutual gain –
materialgain.Thereiscontactbutnofusion,nocommunity
ofthoughtorfeeling."14Forsterbelievedthatthekeyto
improvingtherelationshipbetweentheGovernmentandthe
Chinesepeoplewascommoneducation.Heacknowledged
theBritishGovernment'seffortsinpromotingeducation
in Hong Kong.The Government had in fact established
auniversityinHongKong,butwhatHongKongneeded
wasnoteducationfortheelitebutrathereducationforthe
commonpeople.Itisimportanttonote,however,thatForster
onlyemphasisedcommoneducationanddidnotdiscuss
thelanguagemediumofeducation.ItwasGovernorCecil
Clementi(servedfromNov.1925toFeb.1930),sentbythe
BritishGovernmenttoresolvethecrisistriggeredbytheMay
30thIncident,whopromotedChineselanguageeducation
inHongKong.HeestablishedtheGovernmentVernacular
Middle School (the f irst Chinese language secondary
schoolonHongKongIsland,renamedClementiSecondary
School in 1951), as well asTai PoVernacular Normal
School.GovernorClementiwasfluentinChineseandheld
The May 30 th Incident of 1925, where Chinese
studentsdemonstratingintheconcessionareasinShanghai
were shot and killed by the British police, triggered a
regionalstrikeinGuangdongandHongKong,andalsoled
toanotherdevelopmentinHongKong'sChineselanguage
education. Professor Lancelot Forster (1882-1968), a
memberoftheBoardofEducationinHongKongatthe
time,offeredincisiveinsightintotherelationshipbetween
politicsandeducation.Soonafterthestrike,hepointedout
that"theChineseinHongkong[sic]arenotgovernedbythe
British,theyaregovernedby,andareloyaltoCanton.......
TheHongKongGovernmentcarriedoutruraleducationalreformandtheTaiPoVernacularNormalSchoolwasestablishedin1926.Thisisagroupphotograph
ofallthestudentsin1931.Source:HoWaiYee,YauChiOn,MingKeeChuen,ed.,FromStudyHalltoVillageSchool (教不倦：新界傳統教育的蛻變)(Hong
Kong:RegionalCouncil,1996),p.39.
258
Located inTai Po, theVernacular Normal School
was in fact established to serve the whole of the New
Territories,andstudentscamefromdifferentregionsinthe
NewTerritories.SomeevencamefromShenzhen.Although
theschoolwasnotlimitedtomalestudents,allstudents
weremale.ThiswasbecausetheNewTerritorieswasrather
remoteforwomen,andatthesametime,villageschools
atthetimemightnothavebeenwillingtoemployfemale
teachers.Inthefifteenyearsbetweentheschool'sfoundingin
1926andthebeginningofJapaneseoccupationin1941,over
500studentsenrolledatTaiPoVernacularNormalSchool.
Someofthestudentstherehadfinishedprimaryschool;
somehadnot.60studentsoutofthe500graduated.The
schoolcurriculumincludedChinese,mathematics,history,
geography,physicaleducation,artandcraft,agriculture,
hygiene, education, pedagogy and school management.
Educationwasfreeforthestudents,buttheyhadtoteachin
theNewTerritoriesaftergraduation.15
Tai PoVernacular Normal School was established
to train modern teachers, who were different from the
traditionalteachersoftheprivatestudyhalls.PrincipalChan
BoonChiuandinstructorChanGwanwerebothgraduates
of the GovernmentVernacular Normal School, thus the
curriculum and teaching methods ofTai PoVernacular
Normal School were more or less the same as those of
thetwovernacularnormalschoolsonHongKongIsland.
However,becauseTaiPoVernacularNormalSchoolsetout
totrainvillageteachers,theconditionsofthevillageswere
takenintoaccountinthecurriculum.Firstofall,agriculture
wastaught.Thiswasbecausegraduateswouldbeteachingin
thevillagesanditwasbelievedthattheyshouldhavesome
basicknowledgeofagriculture.Forthissubject,students
259
attendedclassonthepracticefarm(locatedclosetopresentdayValtortaCollege).Afterclass,studentswouldtaketurns
in doing farm duties, such as fertilisation and weeding.
Secondly, English was not taught at the school. Even
thoughEnglishwasamandatorysubjectforprimaryschool
education,asprescribedinthecurriculumforprimaryand
secondaryschoolsin1929,mostoftheprimaryschoolsin
theNewTerritoriesdidnotfollowthisinstruction.TheHong
KongGovernmentwasalsolenientonthisrequirement.16
By1920,theGovernmenthadbecomemuchmore
supportive of Chinese language education, butTai Po
VernacularNormalSchooldidnotreceiveamplesubsidies
andalwaysoperatedwithlimitedresources.Forexample,
theschooldidnothaveadesignatedcampus.Classeswere
conductedinrentedpremisesinYanHingStreetinTaiPo
Market,andPakShingStreetandHonKaRoadinKam
Shan.17Schoolfacilitieswerealsoinferiorcomparedtothe
twonormalschoolsinthecity.TheHongKongGovernment
acknowledgedtheinferiorityoftheschoolfacilities,andthat
theonlyafter-schoolactivitiespossibleforstudentswere
ping-pongandstrolling.18Furthermore,diseasessuchas
malariaandotherkindsofepidemicwerefrequent.These
unfavourableconditionsresultedinlowpassratesforthe
students:in1930,sixteenstudentsparticipatedinthefinal
examandonlythreepassed.TheSecretaryofEducation
attributedthelowpassratetothequalityofthestudents.
Manyofthemdidnothavethedesirablebasiceducation,
butthestandardssetbytheauthoritieswerehigh.Itwas
quiteimpossibleforstudentstomeetthestandardswithin
twoorthreeyearsoftraining.Despiteallthis,theHong
KongGovernmentfeltpositivelytowardsTaiPoVernacular
NormalSchoolandthestudentswhodidnotpassthefinal
examswerestillhiredbyvillageschoolsindifferentareasof
theNewTerritories.TheknowledgetheygainedfromTaiPo
VernacularNormalSchoolfacilitateddevelopmentofvillage
schools.19Indeed,someofthegraduateslaterbecamecentral
figuresinpromotingvillageschooleducation,suchasLiu
CheukWingofSheungShui,whobecametheheadmasterof
KamTinMungYeungPublicSchool.TherewasalsoChung
KwokChoiofLamTsuen,TaiPo,whobecamethefirst
headmasterofLamTsuenPublicSchool.20
A Journey through Time
highregardfortheChineseculture.Yetanotherimportant
reason for his decision to promote Chinese language
educationstemmedfromtherealisationthattheremustbean
adjustmentintheHongKongGovernment'spolicytowards
theChinesepeopleinHongKongaftertheregionalstrike.
Therewasanurgentneedtoimproverelationshipswiththe
Chinesepeople,andClementiappointedSirShousonChow
(1861-1959)asthefirstChinesememberoftheExecutive
Councilin1926.
AfterWWII in 1945, the Hong Kong Government
didnotreopenTaiPoVernacularNormalSchool,which
ceasedoperationin1941duetotheWar.Instead,theRural
TrainingCollegeinFanlingwasestablishedin1946.The
principalwasWongKwokFong,whohadfirstproposed
traininginstitutesforteachersintheNewTerritories22
yearspreviously.However,likeTaiPoVernacularNormal
School,theRuralTrainingCollegedidnothaveadesignated
campus. It borrowed or rented the Governor's Fanling
ResidenceinSheungShui,FanlingChildren'sNurseryand
CheungYuenofPingShan(present-dayMiuFatBuddhist
MonasteryinTuenMun)astemporarycampus.TheRural
TrainingCollegeeventuallyceasedoperatingin1954,and
studentsweresenttotheGranthamCollegeofEducation
establishedin1951.21Thisrepresentedyetanotherchange
in the Hong Kong Government's education policy: that
theteacher-traininginstitutesofthecitywouldalsoserve
schoolsintheNewTerritories.Inotherwords,thesame
trainingwasprovidedforteachersofschoolsinthecities
andthoseintheNewTerritories,andthusstudentsofteacher
-traininginstitutesacrossHongKongwouldbereceiving
thesamequalityofeducation.Canwethusconcludethat
thedifferencesbetweeneducationinthecityandtheNew
he newspaper clipping of SungTak School's fundraising opera
T
performances,March25,1930,HongKongIndustrialandCommercial
Daily (香港工商日報).
Territorieshadbeeneliminated?
The Rise and Fall of Village Schools
A s d i s c u s s e d a b ove , t h e r e we r e m a ny n ew
developmentsineducationinTaiPointhefirsthalfofthe
20thcentury,includingtheestablishmentofTaiPoEnglish
SchoolandTaiPoVernacularNormalSchool.AstheHong
KongGovernmentprovidedsubsidiesforlocalschoolsand
teachersweretrainedunderamoderncurriculum,someof
thetraditionalprivatestudyhallsgraduallyincludedmodern
curriculaintotheirteaching.Somelocalresidentsstarted
buildingmodernschoolsinpopulatedcitycentresandSung
TakSchoolwasamongtheprominentones.
SungTakSchoolwasestablishedin1926inTaiPo
MarketbyHeungYeeKuk.Itsoriginalcampuswasdonated
byHeungYeeKukandtheTaiPoChamberofCommerce,
andcomprisedthreeroomsbeneaththeiroffices.Aprimary
school on two levels, SungTak School was established
withfundsfromHeungYeeKuk,localfigures,andlater
also from the Government.22The Hong Kong Industrial
andCommercialDaily (香港工商日報)reportedin1930
that,studentperformancehadcontinuedtoimprovesince
thefoundingoftheschool.Moreandmorepeopleapplied
foradmission,andfundingcontinuedtogrow.Theschool
boardhiredadramatroupecalledTheFirstClassinthe
NewWorldtoperformforfourdaysandfivenightsinTai
PoMarkettoraisefunds.23Duetothelackofinformation
available,littleisknownofSungTakSchoolbeforetheWar.
Yetjudgingfromagraduationphotoin1941,therewere24
graduatesthatyear,sixofwhomwerefemale.24
260
The 1950s and 1960s were the heyday of rural
schools in Hong Kong.After the Second Sino-Japanese
War was over, CivilWar broke out in China, and many
MainlandrefugeesfledtoHongKong.WhentheJapanese
occupationendedin1945,thepopulationinHongKong
totalled600,000.By1949,thepopulationinHongKong
had risen to 1.8 million.As Hong Kong experienced an
explosivesurgeinpopulation,therewasasevereshortageof
education.AlthoughtheGovernmentbuiltnewgovernment
schools,theincreasedcapacitystilldidnotmeetdemand.
TheGovernmentencouragedtheprivatesectortoestablish
subsidisedschoolssincethesewouldrequirealotfewer
resourcesfromtheauthoritiesthangovernmentschools.
TheGovernmentwouldonlyneedtosubsidisehalfofthe
foundingfeesforsubsidisedsecondaryschools.Moreover,
261
teachers of government schools enjoyed benef its not
applicabletothoseofsubsidisedschools,suchasroomand
boardandpension.25WithsupportfromtheGovernment,
different types of primary schools were established in
HongKong.Inthecity,manyschoolswereestablishedon
rooftops; in the NewTerritories, the number of primary
schoolsincreasedinthepopulatedmarketareas,andrural
schoolscontinuedtobefounded.
InTaiPo,theHongKongGovernmentrentedhouses
as the campus ofTai Po Government Primary School in
1946. Meanwhile, classes resumed at SungTak School,
establishedbyHeungYeeKukin1948,andby1950ithad
expandedintoaschoolwith14classesandmorningand
afternoonsessions.Therewere500students,thehighest
A Journey through Time
SungTakSchoolwasestablishedin1926.Thisisagraduationphotographtakenin1941.Source:SungTakSchool,SpecialCommemorativeIssue:The75th
AnniversaryofSungTakSchool'sFounding (崇德學校創校七十五周年校慶特刊)(HongKong:SungTakSchool,2000),p.65.
number of students among all the schools inTai Po. 26
Nevertheless, there were still a lot of children without
educationinTaiPo.Thoselivinginthevillageshadtotravel
longdistancestoattendschoolinTaiPoMarket.Therefore
manycivilorganisationsestablishedruralschoolsinthe
villagesandmostoftheschoolsestablishedaftertheWar
until1960wereruralschools(seeFigure2).
RuralSchoolswereestablishedinrelianceoflocal
resources, support by local figures and encouragement
fromtheGovernment.KaiChiSchoolinTaiPoTau,for
example,wasoriginallyaprivatestudyhallfoundedbythe
Tangfamily.Beforethewar,theschoolwaslocatedinthe
TangAncestralHallandhadonlyabouttenstudentsand
oneteacher.Fundingcamefromstudents,whopaidschool
feesinriceorcashaccordingtotheirfinancialsituation,as
wellastheGovernment.Theschoolceasedoperationduring
thewar,andresumedclassesin1947withsubsidyfromthe
Government.Initially,onlygradesone,twoandthreewere
offeredto30students,andtheywereallplacedinthesame
class.Withintwoyears,thenumberofstudentsroseto70.
Threemoregradeswereadded,andtheoriginalcampus
sitewasnolongerabletomeettheneedsoftheschool.
Consequently,theschoolboarddonated20,000dollarsfora
newcampus,andgovernmentfundsmadeuptheshortfall.
In1954,therewereasmanyas150studentsattheschool.27
PanChungPublicPrimarySchoolwasestablishedin1959
andtheoriginalfoundingsiteoftheschoolwasdonated
bythevillagers.Therewerefourclassroomsinthecampus
and construction costs amounted to 40,000 dollars, half
ofwhichwassponsoredbylocaldonationsandtheother
halfsubsidisedbytheGovernment.Originally,theschool
onlyofferedgradesone,twoandthree.28Therewasalso
TaiPoNormalMemorialSchool,establishedbytheTaiPo
VernacularNormalSchoolAlumniAssociation.Thecampus
in Kam Shan, which could accommodate 500 students,
wasprovidedbytheGovernment,whileconstructionfees
of 140,000 dollars were donated by alumnae and local
In1961,theAlumniAssociationoftheTaiPoVernacularNormalSchool
founded theTai Po Normal School Memorial School at Kam Shan.
(PhotographybyLoWaiLing)
TaiPoTau'sKaiChiSchoolwasdevelopedonthefoundationoftheKing
LawKaShuk,whichwasestablishedinQingperiod.(PhotographybyTsui
YuenLing)
benefactorsandsubsidisedbytheGovernmentona50-50
basis.29
Duetodecreasingbirthrates,thenumberofschool
age children has been declining consistently in recent
TaiHangHeung'sTaiHangPublicSchoolwasestablishedbytheTaiHang
ManLineage.(PhotographybyTsuiYuenLing)
262
SungTakSchool,whichhadenjoyedalonglifeof
80years,eventuallyclosedinAugustof2007.Since2002,
the school had taken advantage of reduced enrolment
to implement education reforms, including small class
educationand"collaborativelearning"(breakingstudents
intosmallgroupsandeachmemberofthegrouplearnsby
collaboration,therebyimprovingcommunicationskillsand
selfconfidence).Eventhoughtheschoolreceivednotification
in2004thatithadtocloseinthreeyears,itdidnotterminate
itseffortsineducationreforms.Accordingtotheprincipal,
"termination in three years' time actually created a new
opportunityfordevelopment.Sincetheauthoritiesnolonger
sentinspectionteams,wewereburdenedmuchlesswith
administrativeduties.Atthesametime,becausewedidnot
havetoworryaboutenrolmentnumbers,wedidnothaveto
spendalotoftimeonrecruitment.Teacherscouldfinally
focusonteaching."33Thisshowsweshouldnotonlyfocus
263
ontheGovernment'stop-downeducationpolicysincethe
1997handover,butshouldalsolearntoappreciatehowhead
teachersandtheircolleaguesfightforautonomyandsurvival
whilstunderimmensepressure.
Last but not least, the development of secondary
educationinTaiPoisalsosignificant.Asthenumberof
primaryschoolgraduatesincreased,secondaryeducationin
thedistrictalsocameunderhighdemand.ResidentsofTai
Pohadproposedthefoundingofagovernmentsecondary
schoolinTaiPoasearlyas1951,buttheirproposalwas
unsuccessfulduetoalackoffunding.In1955,WongSiu
Wai,theBuddhistofLaityandownerofPunChunYuen
BuddhistLectoriuminTaiPo,offeredtogive400,000to
500,000dollarsforthefoundingofasecondaryschoolin
PunChunYuen.34In1956,thewifeofwealthymerchant
WongTakSindonated200,000dollarsfromherinheritance
tobuildasecondaryschoolinYuenChauTsaiTyphoon
Shelter.TheseproposalswereapprovedbytheDepartment
of Education, but for reasons not known, they were not
implementedintheend.35Duringthe1950s,therewasonly
onesecondaryschoolinTaiPo,namelySamYukSecondary
SchoolestablishedbyReverendYeungKinShekin1956.
Initially,thenon-profitChristianschoolonlyofferedprimary
educationandkindergarten,andthesecondarysectionwas
anadditionofthe1960s,withanenrolmentof170.36By
1960,theshortageinsecondaryeducationhadbecomevery
serious.SungTakPrimarySchoolsent22graduatestositfor
theadmissionsexamforsecondaryeducation;19ofthem
passedtheexam,butonlythreewereadmittedtosecondary
schools.37
In1961and1962,WongShiuChiSecondarySchool
and BuddhistTai Kwong Middle School were founded
respectively.Theyprovidedopportunitiesforprimaryschool
graduatestocontinuewithsecondaryeducation.WongShiu
ChiSecondarySchoolwasfoundeduponChristianvalues
byWongTakHing,aChristiandoctor,tocommemoratehis
parents,WongShiuDuenandLaiDanChi.Thefounder
for BuddhistTai Kwong Middle School was Master Sik
ChiCheung,whoalsofoundedBuddhistTaiKwongFree
A Journey through Time
years.Atthesametime,theGovernmentimplementednew
educationpolicies,causingmanyoftheruralschoolsthat
assistedtheGovernmentinprovidingeducationforchildren
inthepasttoclose.In2002,theEducationandManpower
Bureauproposedanewpolicy,specifyingthatifaschool
haslessthan23studentsenrolledinPrimary1,itmustbe
closed.Asaresult,over100ruralschoolshadclosedby
2006,andonlyabout30ruralschoolsareleftinHongKong
currently.30SevenruralschoolsinTaiPo,includingKai
Chi,LamTsuen,LukHeung,PanChung,TaiPoVernacular
NormalMemorial,TaiHangandYukYin,joinedforcesin
2003toprotestagainsttheGovernment'spolicyofclosing
ruralschools,andproposedanalternative"naturalcessation"
solution.31ParentsalsoestablishedParentsAssociationto
save the schools.A parent of LamTsuen Public School
evensoughtjudicialreviewfromtheHighCourtsothat
hisdaughter,whowasinPrimary5,couldfinishprimary
educationattheschool.Theparenteventuallywithdrewthe
lawsuitbecausehewasunabletoobtainlegalassistance.32
Intheend,thesevenschoolscouldnotescapethefateof
closure,andruralschoolshavenowcompletelydisappeared
fromTaiPo.Theabandonedschoolcampusesandnumerous
alumnaeareallthatremain.
Schoolin1945.Inspiteofthisprogress,however,secondary
educationremainedanunreachabledreamformanyHong
Kong students in the 1960s.According to the Report of
theCommitteeonEducation,theGovernmentannounced
in1963itsgoalto"providesecondaryeducationto15%
ofprimaryschoolgraduatesassoonaspossible."38Atthe
time,therewere82,000primaryschoolstudents,butonly
979secondaryschoolstudents.39Itisclearhowdifficultit
wasforaprimaryschoolgraduateintheNewTerritoriesto
continuewithsecondaryschooleducation.
PoDistrictSecondarySchoolwasestablishedin1984.As
moresecondaryschoolswerebuiltintheNewTerritories,
alongwiththeimplementationoftheNine-yearCompulsory
EducationPolicy,studentsintheNewTerritoriesenjoyed
equalopportunitiestoaccesssecondaryeducationasthose
inthecity.
Toaddressthisproblem,HeungYeeKukproposed
three Chinese and English secondary schools inYuen
Long,Tai Po and the Southern District (TsuenWan and
the Outlying Islands). HeungYee Kuk established the
CommitteeforSecondaryEducationoftheThreeDistricts
in NewTerritories in 1961. Construction costs for each
secondaryschoolwereestimatedattwomillion,andHeung
Yee Kuk would be responsible for 600,000 dollars.The
NewTerritories HeungYee KukYuen Long Secondary
School was founded in 1968 as a result of successful
implementationofthisproposal.However,duetofinancial
difficulties,HeungYeeKukwasnotabletoraisetheother
1.2millionfortheproposedsecondaryschoolsinTaiPo
andtheSouthernDistrict.Consequently,HeungYeeKuk
proposed that Government reduce its contribution from
600,000dollarsperschoolto150,000perschool.40Finally,
The NewTerritories HeungYee Kuk Southern District
SecondarySchoolwasestablishedin1982inMuiWoof
LantauIsland,andTheNewTerritoriesHeungYeeKukTai
In his recent publication, well known Hong Kong
historianJamesHayesusedthephrase"thegreatdifference",
borrowedfromgovernmentofficialJamesStewartLockhart
who oversaw NewTerritoriesAffairs in 1898 and 1899,
toemphasisethedisparitiesbetweentheNewTerritories
andKowloon.41ThedevelopmentofeducationinTaiPo
certainlyreflectedthis"greatdifference",butthisdisparity
isslowlydisappearing.TheclosingoftheRuralTraining
College in the 1950s signified the belief that teachers
across Hong Kong should receive the same training.As
the number of secondary schools increased in the New
Territories in the 1980s, students in the NewTerritories
enjoyedequalopportunitiesforfurtheringtheireducation
asthoseinthecity.Nevertheless,isthedisappearanceof
ruralschoolsapositiveornegativeoutcomeofthetrends
of"convergence"and"standardisation?"Isthedissipation
of"thegreatdifference"representativeofimprovementsin
theNewTerritories?Orrather,doesitactuallyreflectthe
disappearanceofdiversityinHongKong?
Conclusion
264
Figure1:SchoolsinTaiPothatreceivedGovernmentsubsidiesin1924
Location of School
Number of Registered
Students
Average Number of Students
Amount of Annual Subsidy
in Attendance
TaiPoMarket
66(2female)
57
180
TaiPoMarket(Girls)
37(23female)
31
120
ChungUkVillage,LamTsuen
31
22
120
TaiPoTau
17
14
120
HangHaPo
17(2female)
15
120
NgTongChai
29(3female)
24
120
NamWahPo
29(1female)
22
60
PanChung
24
16
60
Source:ReportoftheDirectorofEducationfortheYear1924",AdministrativeReportsfortheYear1924 .
Figure2:PrimaryschoolsestablishedinTaiPoafterWWIIanduntil1960
School
Location
Year of Founding
LamTsuenPublicSchool
LamTsuenHeung
1946(Closed)
TaiPoNormalMemorialSchool
KamShan
1961(Closed)
TaiHangPublicSchool
TaiHangVillage
1962(Closed)
BuddhistTaiKwongFreeSchool
TaiKwongYuenBuddhistLectorium 1945(Closed)
YukYinSchool
CloudyHill
1946(Closed)
NamWahSchool
NamWahPoVillage
KaiChiSchool
(developedfromaprivatestudyhallbeforethe TaiPoTau
War)
ShingMingSchool
TaiPoMarket
1953(Closed)
KoLaoWanFishermen'sChildrenSchool
1955(Closed)
KoLaoWan
1945(Closed)
1957(Closed)
KinLamSchool
TapMun
1958(Closed)
PanChungPublicPrimarySchool
PanChungVillage
1959(Closed)
TaiPoOldMarketPublicSchool
TaiPoMarket
1964
LukHeungSanVillagePublicSchool
TaiPoMarket
1964(Closed)
TaiPoPublicSchool
TaiPoMarket
1946
MingLunSchool
FungYuenVillage
1956(Closed)
WunYiuPublicSchool
WunYiuVillage
1949(Closed)
ShuenWanYuDongShuenSchool
(developed fromYukYing School before the ShuenWan
1950(Closed)
War)
Sources:Newspapers,TaiPoHeritage (大埔風物志)andHongKongSchoolsandCollegesDirectory(香港教育年鑑)(1960),
etc.
265
A Journey through Time
SamMunFishermen'sChildrenSchool
1949(Closed)
Footnotes
1
SiuKwokKin,TaiPoHeritage (大埔風物志)(HongKong:TaiPo
DistrictCouncil,1997),p.72.
2
LauYunWo,ABriefHistoryoftheNewTerritories (新界簡史)(Hong
Kong:JointPublishing(HK)Co.,1999),p.31,p.39.Theotherthree
policestationswereestablishedinPingShan,ShaTauKokandAuTau.
3
"ReportoftheDirectorofEducationfortheYear1911,"Administrative
ReportsfortheYear1911 ,N15.
4
"ReportoftheInspectorofSchools,"AdministrativeReportsforthe
Year1908 ,M7.
5
"ReportoftheDirectorofEducationfortheYear1912,"Administrative
ReportsfortheYear1912 ,N12.Theaverageattendancein1912was31,
11morethan1911.
6
"ReportoftheDirectorofEducationfortheYear1927,"Administrative
ReportsfortheYear1927 , O14-15; "Education Department, Hong
Kong.AnnualReportfor1938",AdministrativeReportsfortheYear
1938 ,O41.
17
FangJun,"TaiPoVernacularNormalSchool(1926-1941):ThePioneer
ofBasicEducationintheNewTerritories"(大埔官立漢文師範學校
(1926-1941)新界基礎教育的開拓者),pp.141-142.
18
"ReportoftheDirectorofEducationfortheYear1936,"Administrative
ReportsfortheYear1936 ,O22.
19
"ReportoftheDirectorofEducationfortheYear1930,"Administrative
ReportsfortheYear1930 ,O24-25.
20
TaiPoVernacularNormalAlumniYearbookEditingCommittee,TaiPo
VernacularNormalSchoolAlumniAssociationYearbook (埔師同學會
會刊)(1973),p.61.
21
KwongKaiTo,ed.,ADeepAffectionfortheCountryside:theHistory
oftheRuralTrainingCollegeandHerConcerningActivities (鄉村情
懷:香港官立鄉村師範專科學校校史(1946-54)及活動),p.10,
p.18.
22
LauYunWo,ABriefHistoryoftheNewTerritories (新界簡史),p.53,
SungTakSchool,SpecialCommemorativeIssue:The75 thAnniversary
ofSungTakSchool'sFounding,1926-2001 (崇德學校創校七十五周年
校慶特刊)(HongKong:SungTakSchool,2000),p.20.
7
HoWaiYee,Yau Chi On, Ming Kee Chuen, ed.,From Study Hall
toVillage School (教不倦：新界傳統教育的蛻變) (Hong Kong:
RegionalCouncil,1996),p.20.
8
"ReportoftheDirectorofEducationfortheYear1924,"Administrative
ReportsfortheYear1924 ,O36-38.
23
Hong Kong Industrial and Commercial Daily (香港工商日報), 25
March1930.
9
WongChaiLok,AHistoryoftheDevelopmentofChineseEducationin
HongKong (香港中文教育發展史)(HongKong:BoManPublishing
House,1983),p.324.KwongKaiTo,ed.,ADeepAffectionforthe
Countryside : the History of the RuralTraining College and Her
ConcerningActivities (鄉村情懷 : 香港官立鄉村師範專科學校校
史(1946-54)及活動) (Hong Kong: RuralTraining CollegeAlumni
AssociationLimited,2004),p.46.
24
10
NgLunNgai-ha,InteractionsofEastandWest:DevelopmentofPublic
EducationinEarlyHongKong (HongKong:ChineseUniversityPress,
1984),pp.103-109.
11
WongChaiLok,AHistoryoftheDevelopmentofChineseEducationin
HongKong (香港中文教育發展史),p.274。
SungTakSchool,SpecialCommemorativeIssue:The75 th Anniversary
ofSungTakSchool'sFounding (崇德學校創校七十五周年校慶特刊),
p.65.NewTerritoriesDirectory (新界年鑑)(1976),p.73.Duringthe
Japaneseoccupation,SungTakSchoolwastakenoverbythegovernor
andrenamed"People'sSchool."Japanesewastaughtintheschoolby
Japaneseteachers,accordingtoaninterviewwithPrincipalLeeMang
Ching.TsuiYuenLing,WongWingHo,"InterviewwithLeeMang
ChingofSungTakSchool"(崇德學校李孟正先生訪問),25July2007,
ArchiveSerialNo.:TP-OH-0053,OralHistoryProject(TaiPoDistrict),
SouthChinaResearchCenter,TheHongKongUniversityofScience
andTechnology.
25
Hong Kong Education Commission, Report of the Committee on
Education (香港教育委員會報告書) (Hong Kong: the Hong Kong
GovernmentPress,1963),p.21.
26
Hong Kong Industrial and Commercial Daily (香港工商日報), 8
January1958.SungTakSchool,SpecialCommemorativeIssue:The
75 th AnniversaryofSungTakSchool'sFounding(崇德學校創校七十五
周年校慶特刊),p.19.TaiPoGovernmentPrimarySchoolwebsite
(http://www.tpgps.edu.hk/intro.htm).EditorialCommitteeoftheHong
KongEducationDirectory,HongKongEducationDirectory (香港教育
年鑑)(HongKong:HongKongCulturalPublishingHouse,1960),p.
71.
12
EducationOrdinance ,1913.
13
WongChaiLok,AHistoryoftheDevelopmentofChineseEducationin
HongKong (香港中文教育發展史),p.322。
14
Sweeting,Anthony,EducationinHongKongPre-1841to1941:Fact
and Opinion: Materials for a History of Education in Hong Kong (HongKong:HongKongUniversityPress,1990),p.342;HongKong
GovernmentGazette (July30,1926),p.345.
15
16
FangJun,"TaiPoVernacularNormalSchool(1926-1941):ThePioneer
ofBasicEducationintheNewTerritories"(大埔官立漢文師範學校
(1926-1941)新界基礎教育的開拓者),Education Journal, vol. 29,
January2001,p.138,pp.142-145.
27
WongSikMing,ed.,HongKongSchoolsandCollegesDirectory (香港
學校總鑑)(HongKong:publishedbyeditor,1955),p.78.
FangJun,"TaiPoVernacularNormalSchool(1926-1941):ThePioneer
ofBasicEducationintheNewTerritories"(大埔官立漢文師範學校
(1926-1941)新界基礎教育的開拓者),pp.142-143,148-149.
28
266
HongKongIndustrialandCommercialDaily (香港工商日報),4May
1958.TaKungPao(大公報),4August1959.
TaiPoVernacularNormalAlumniYearbookEditingCommittee,TaiPo
VernacularNormalSchoolAlumniAssociationYearbook (埔師同學會
會刊),pp.51-52。
30
TheAppleDaily (蘋果日報),2July2006.
of the Hong Kong Education Directory,Hong Kong Schools and
CollegesDirectory (香港學校總鑑)(1960),p.69.FiftiethAnniversary
oftheTaiPoSamYukSecondarySchool (大埔三育中學五十周年校
慶)(HongKong:SeventhDayAdventistChurchSamYukSecondary
School,2006),p.142.
31
TheJointSevenSchoolsinTaiPo:KaiChi,LamTsuen,LukHeung,
PanChung,TaiPoNormalMemorial,TaiHang,YukYin,Lettertothe
ChairmanoftheTaiPoDistrictCouncil (大埔七校聯校：啓智，林
村，六鄉，泮涌，埔師，泰亨，育賢),availableattheHongKong
UniversityLibrary.
32
SingTaoDaily (星島日報),18November2003.MingPao (明報),31
July,2004.
33
LaiKwokChan,YipKinYuen,FromSmalltoBig:CaseStudiesof
Small Class Education (由小見大——小班教學檔案追蹤) (Hong
Kong:SpringForwardMultimediaCo.Ltd.,2007),p.51.
34
Hong Kong Industrial and Commercial Daily (香港工商日報), 13
November1951;SingTaoDaily (星島日報),11May1955;fromFong
Chun,MakChiuLing,HongYinKuan,eds.,EducationalDocuments
SelectionofEarlyNewspapersinHongKong (香港早期報紙教育資料
選萃)(Changsha:HunanPeople'sPublishingHouse,2006),p.609.
35
36
Hong Kong Industrial and Commercial Daily (香港工商日報), 24
November1956.OverseasChineseDailyNews (華僑日報),26July
1957.
NewTerritoriesDirectory (新界年鑑)(1978),p.46.EditorialCommittee
267
37
Hong Kong Industrial and Commercial Daily (香港工商日報), 24
August1959.
38
Hong Kong Education Commission,Report of the Committee on
Education (香港教育委員會報告書),p.37.
39
Hong Kong Education Commission,Report of the Committee on
Education (香港教育委員會報告書),p.35.However,accordingtothe
HongKongEducationDirectorypublishedin1960,therewereatotal
of12non-subsidisedandsubsidisedschoolsproviding2,900school
places.SeeEditorialCommitteeoftheHongKongEducationDirectory,
HongKongEducationDirectory (香港教育年鑑),p.69.
40
TheNewTerritoriesHeungYeeKukYuenLongSecondarySchool,
SpecialCommemorativeIssuefortheJubileeAnniversaryoftheNew
TerritoriesHeungYeeKukYuenLongSecondarySchool,1967-1992 (新
界鄉議局元朗區中學銀禧紀念特刊，1967-1992)(HongKong:The
NewTerritoriesHeungYeeKukYuenLongSecondarySchool,1992),p.
17,p.27.
41
Hayes,James,TheGreatDifference:HongKong'sNewTerritories
andItsPeople,1898-2004 (HongKong:HongKongUniversityPress,
2006),pp.1-4.
A Journey through Time
29
Bibilography
1.
Chinese References
Kong:TheNewTerritoriesHeungYeeKukYuenLong
SecondarySchool,1992).
Editor Committee of the Hong Kong Education
Directory,HongKongEducationDirectory (香港教
育年鑑)(HongKong:HongKongCutturalPublishing
House,1960).
SiuKwokKin,TaiPoHeritage (大埔風物志)(Hong
Kong:TaiPoDistrictCouncil,1997).
SungTakSchool,SpecialCommemorativeIssue:The
75 th AnniversaryofSungTakSchool'sFounding(崇德
學校創校七十五周年校慶特刊).
Fang Jun, Mak Chiu Ling, HongYin Kuan, eds.,
EducationalDocumentsSelectionofEarlyNewspapers
i n H o n g Ko n g ( 香 港 早 期 報 紙 教 育 資 料 選 萃 )
(Changsha:HunanPeople'sPublishingHouse,2006).
TaiPoVernacularNormalAlumniYearbookEditing
Committee,TaiPoVernacularNormalSchoolAlumni
AssociationYearbook (埔師同學會會刊)(1973).
FiftiethAnniversaryoftheTaiPoSamYukSecondary
School (大埔三育中學五十周年校慶)(HongKong:
SeventhDayAdventistChurchSamYukSecondary
School,2006).
HoWaiYee,YauChiOn,MingKeeChuen,ed.,From
StudyHalltoVillageSchool (教不倦：新界傳統教育
的蛻變)(HongKong:RegionalCouncil,1996).
The Joint Seven Schools inTai Po: Kai Chi, Lam
Tsuen, Luk Heung, Pan Chung,Tai Po Normal
Memorial,TaiHang,YukYin,LettertotheChairman
oftheTaiPoDistrictCouncil (大埔七校聯校：啓智，
林村，六鄉，泮涌，埔師，泰亨，育賢),available
attheHongKongUniversityLibrary.
Hong Kong Education Commission,Report of the
CommitteeonEducation (香港教育委員會報告書)
(HongKong:theHongKongGovernmentPress,1963).
Wong Chai Lok,A History of the Development of
ChineseEducationinHongKong (香港中文教育發展
史)(HongKong:BoWenBookCo.,1983).
K wo n g K a i To , e d . , D e e p A ff e c t i o n f o r t h e
Countryside:theHistoryoftheRuralTrainingCollege
andHerConcerningActivities (鄉村情懷：香港官
立鄉村師範專科學校校史(1946-54)及活動) (Hong
Kong: RuralTraining CollegeAlumniAssociation
Limited,2004).
WongSikMing,ed.,HongKongSchoolsandColleges
Directory (香港學校總鑑)(HongKong:publishedby
editor,1955).
2.
Chinese Essay
Fang Jun, "Tai Po Ver nacular Nor mal School
(1926-1941):ThePioneerofBasicEducationinthe
NewTerritories"(大埔官立漢文師範學校(1926-1941)
新界基礎教育的開拓者),EducationJournal vol.29,
January2001.
LaiKwokChan,YipKinYuen,FromSmalltoBig:
CaseStudiesofSmallClassEducation (由小見大——
小班教學檔案追蹤) (Hong Kong: Spring Forward
MultimediaCo.Ltd.,2007).
3.
LauYunWo,ABriefHistoryoftheNewTerritories
(新界簡史)(HongKong:JointPublishing(HK)Co.,
1999).
English References
AdministrativeReports ,1908-1936.
EducationOrdinance ,1913.
Hayes,James.TheGreatDifference:HongKong'sNew
TerritoriesandItsPeople,1898-2004 (HongKong:
HongKongUniversityPress,2006).
NewTerritoriesDirectory (新界年鑑)(1976).
NewTerritoriesHeungYeeKukYuenLongSecondary
School,SpecialCommemorativeIssuefortheJubilee
AnniversaryoftheNewTerritoriesHeungYeeKuk
YuenLongSecondarySchool,1967-1992 (新界鄉議
局元朗區中學銀禧紀念特刊，1967-1992) (Hong
HongKongGovernmentGazette (1926).
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268
先生訪問), 25 July 2007,Archives Serial No.:TPOH-0053.
(HongKong:ChineseUniversityPress,1984).
Sweeting,Anthony,EducationinHongKongPre-1841
to1941:FactandOpinion:MaterialsforaHistoryof
EducationinHongKong (HongKong:HongKong
UniversityPress,1990).
Oral History Project (Tai Po District), South China
Research Center, The Hong Kong University of
Science and Technology
Newspaper Archives
HongKongIndustrialandCommercialDaily (香港工
商日報).
MingPao (明報).
SingTaoDaily (星島日報).
TsuiYuenLing,WongWingHo,"InterviewwithLee
MangChingofSungTakSchool"(崇德學校李孟正
269
TaKungPao (大公報).
TheAppleDaily (蘋果日報).
A Journey through Time
4.
5.