Quality Education Fund
The establishment of the Quality Education Fund (QEF) is one of the recommendations of the Education Commission Report No. 7 (ECR 7). Established in January 1998 with an allocation of $5 billion, the QEF provides an additional channel to finance projects for the promotion of quality school education in Hong Kong. The fund mainly caters for worthwhile non-profit making initiatives within the ambit of basic education, i.e. pre-primary, primary, secondary and special education. All local schools are eligible to apply. The projects funded by the QEF fall mainly in the following categories: effective learning, all-round education, school-based management, education research, application of information technology in education and schemes that recognise excellence in the performance of schools.
All
applications are considered by the QEF Steering Committee (QEFSC) and
its Assessment Subcommittee. The QEFSC was set up under the Education
Commission to advise on the policies and procedures regarding the operation
of the QEF. It is chaired by a non-official member of the EC and supported
by two government officials and nine non-official members representing
the school sector, education professionals and the business community.
The QEFSC makes recommendations to the Government on the award of grants.
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The Promotion and Monitoring Subcommittee (PMS) set up under the QEFSC is responsible for monitoring approved projects and promoting good education practices that have evolved from successful projects. Besides vetting progress reports and final reports, site visits and interviews with grantees and/project leaders are also conducted by PMS members, expert reviewers, external reviewers and the QEF Secretariat for the purpose of project monitoring. To promote and disseminate good practices and experiences of approved projects, the QEF has organised experience-sharing sessions, briefings, seminars, Saturday talks and project expositions. In addition, newsletters have also been issued from time to time. Arising from the recommendations of the ECR 7, the QEFSC has also set up an Outstanding School Awards (OSA) scheme. The scheme aims to give recognition and encouragement to schools with excellent practices and performance, promote and disseminate schools' excellent educational practices and cultivate a quality culture within the school sector to strive for excellence having regard to the school's unique conditions. It had attracted 211 nomination putting forward 187 schools for 315 awards. The results were announced in July. Six schools were awarded the OSA and 18 schools the Certificate of Merit in the four major education domains — management and organisation, teaching and learning, support for students and school ethos, and students' attainment.