Hong Kong 2006 - Education

For the 2006-07 financial year, the approved recurrent government expenditure on education was $47.9 billion, equivalent to 23.9 per cent of all recurrent government expenditure, while the total government expenditure on education amounted to $56.5 billion, or 23 per cent of total government expenditure.

The EC is responsible for advising the Government on the overall educational objectives and policies, and coordinating the work of all major education-related advisory bodies on the planning and development of education at all levels. The commission also advises the Government on implementation issues with important policy implications to ensure better synergy between policy formulation and implementation.

The commission has a chairman, a vice-chairman who is the Permanent Secretary for Education and Manpower, seven ex-officio members and a number of non-official members. The seven ex-officio members comprise the chairmen of the Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications, the Curriculum Development Council, the HKEAA Council, the Quality Education Fund Steering Committee, the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research, UGC and the Vocational Training Council (VTC). The non-official members come from both education and non-education fields.

All kindergartens and kindergarten-cum-child care centres are required to register under the Education Ordinance. Since the 2004-05 school year, all kindergartens are required to employ Qualified Kindergarten Teachers. The aim is to upgrade the professional qualifications of all kindergarten teachers and principals to the diploma and bachelor's degree levels respectively by the end of the 2011-12 school year.

The EMB has revised the 'Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum' for implementation in September 2007. It provides the basic principles and direction for preschool educators to develop their school-based programme.

Meanwhile, the Government has been steadily improving the teacher-pupil ratio in kindergartens since September 2001. The existing ratio is 1:15.

The quality assurance system for kindergartens has also come under scrutiny. Whereas in the past, this was pursued through inspections, now a system of self-evaluation supported by an external review process is in place. Kindergartens and kindergarten-cum-child care centres are encouraged to conduct annual self-evaluations based on common indicators developed for this purpose. The results of these self-evaluations are then validated by external reviews.

Free and universal basic education is provided for children aged six to 15 — six years of primary education plus three years of secondary education. Admission to Primary 1 in aided and government schools is administered through a centralised system, and all Primary 6 students are provided with secondary school places. All Secondary 3 students who are willing and able to continue with their studies are given the opportunity to receive subsidised Secondary 4 education or vocational training. About one-third of Secondary 5 leavers may further their studies in subsidised Secondary 6 and 7 school places. The implementation of the NSS curriculum in the 2009-10 school year will enable students to complete six years of secondary education (three-year junior and three-year senior secondary education) in the same school.

In September 2006, a total of 357 500 children were enrolled in government and aided primary schools and 413 200 children in government and aided secondary schools. Government and aided school places made up about 90 per cent of school places. In addition, there were 64 Direct Subsidy Scheme schools, offering about six per cent of the school places.

As at September 2006, there were 55 international schools, including 15 schools operated by the English Schools Foundation in Hong Kong. These schools form an important social infrastructure in keeping with Hong Kong's status as an international business centre and a vibrant cosmopolitan city. They offer different non-local curricula, including American, Australian, British, Canadian, French, German-Swiss, Japanese, Korean and Singaporean, and provide a total of 36 900 places.

Children with special educational needs (SEN), who can benefit from education in ordinary school setting, are integrated into ordinary schools with provision of additional support and services. Schools are encouraged to adopt a whole-school approach to support children with SEN. In the 2006-07 school year, 373 ordinary schools adopted a whole-school approach to support about 11 000 students with SEN or a disability.

In addition, there were 61 special schools for those students with severe SEN or multiple disabilities, of which 20 also provided boarding facilities. Together, they provided around 8 500 school places and 1 000 boarding places. Sixteen special schools also served as resource centres, providing professional and resource support for ordinary schools which had admitted students with SEN. From 2005-06 to 2006-07, seven schools with experience in the whole-school approach served as resource schools to share their knowledge and practices with other schools that had admitted students with SEN.

The Government also provides support services for gifted students to develop their potential through school-based support, development of resource packages, research and development projects, teachers and parents training, and off-site enrichment programmes. The Government will set up an Academy for Gifted Education in 2007 to help enlarge the talent pool for Hong Kong as a world city.

The Government launched Project Yi Jin in October 2000 to provide an alternative route to continuing education for secondary school leavers and adult learners. Successful completion of the programme earns the student a qualification comparable to five passes in the HKCEE for employment and continuing education purposes. The programme is run by member institutions of the Federation for Continuing Education in Tertiary Institutions and has both full-time and part-time modules. In the 2006-07 school year, around 8 000 full-time and part-time students joined the programme.

Drawing on the success of the project, the Government introduced a pilot scheme, the Yi Jin/Secondary Schools Collaboration Project, to 10 secondary schools in September 2004. At the beginning of the 2006-07 school year, 14 secondary schools participated in the scheme.

The VTC was established in 1982 to provide and promote a cost-effective and comprehensive system of vocational education and training for school leavers and adult learners to acquire skills and knowledge for lifelong learning and employment.

The VTC provides high-quality, internationally recognised full-time pre-employment education and training courses. The courses, which are available at several levels, range from those designed for craftsmen to those for students seeking higher diplomas. They are offered through the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education, VTC School of Business and Information Systems, and training and development centres. There are also industry-wide training schemes and a trade-testing and certification scheme.

Altogether, over 160 000 full-time and part-time places were available in the 2006-07 academic year for both school leavers and working people.

Three skills centres run by the VTC prepare people with a disability for employment, or provide vocational education and technical training. Together, they offered 660 full-time places in the 2006-07 training year.

Funded by industry levy, the Construction Industry Training Authority (CITA) provides pre-employment training for school leavers and adults and in-service training for construction workers. In the 2006-07 training year, CITA offered about 1 800 full-time and 54 300 part-time training places. It also conducts trade tests for construction workers to assess the standards of skills achieved, and certification tests for operators of construction plants.

The Clothing Industry Training Authority (CLITA) provides training courses for the clothing and footwear industries with funding from industry levy. It offers both full-time and part-time courses at technician and craftsman levels and skills upgrading courses for in-service workers. In the 2006-07 training year, CLITA offered about 540 full-time and 6 100 part-time training places.

At the start of the 2006-07 academic year, some 300 full-time accredited self-financing programmes were offered by 20 post-secondary institutions, providing about 26 000 full-time intake places at below or above degree level. These are in addition to some 7 600 publicly-funded intake places at sub-degree level offered by City University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Hong Kong Institute of Education, the VTC and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

Hong Kong has 12 degree-awarding higher education institutions, eight of which are publicly-funded through the UGC. The other four are the publicly-funded Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the self-financing Open University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Shue Yan University and Chu Hai College of Higher Education. Hong Kong Shue Yan University became the first local private university in Hong Kong on 19 December 2006 upon approval from the Chief Executive in Council.

The UGC is appointed by the Chief Executive to advise on the development and funding of higher education and to administer public grants to the eight higher education institutions. It comprises non-local academics, local academics, professionals and community leaders. Its secretariat is mainly staffed by civil servants.

The UGC also plays a major role in quality assurance and the promotion of international competitiveness. Its major initiatives include the Performance and Role-related Funding Scheme, the Research Assessment Exercise and the Areas of Excellence Scheme.

Each of the eight higher education institutions funded through the UGC is an autonomous statutory body with its own ordinance and governing body. They enjoy a high degree of academic and institutional autonomy, and are free to manage their own affairs within the parameters of the law. Seven of the eight institutions are universities and the remaining one is a teacher education institution. All have distinctive and complementary roles that reflect their varying origins, missions and the way they have responded to Hong Kong's complex and evolving needs. Following a review of the higher education sector, the UGC is now taking a more strategic approach by developing an interlocking yet individually different system. The entire sector is now viewed as one for both the region and the world, with each institution fulfilling a unique role based on its strengths.

The administration introduced three rounds of matching grant schemes costing $1 billion each in 2003, 2005 and 2006 respectively to broaden the funding sources of the eight UGC-funded institutions and strengthen their fund-raising capabilities. The $1 billion matching grant was allocated fully in the first scheme, which ended in 2004, and the institutions secured a total of more than $1.3 billion in private donations. The second scheme was completed in early 2006, raising $1.9 billion in private donations, and the $1 billion matching grant was also fully allocated. About $1.6 billion in private donations were secured by the institutions upon completion of the third scheme in mid-March 2007, and about $0.9 billion of matching grant was allocated.

At present, 14 500 first-year-first-degree places are available in institutions funded by the UGC, equivalent to about 18 per cent of students between the ages of 17 and 20. For the 2005-06 academic year, the UGC-funded institutions provided an additional 840 senior year undergraduate places for graduates of sub-degree programmes and people with other qualifications. A further 46 per cent in the same age group were given access to other local or overseas higher education opportunities such as sub-degree programmes and overseas university programmes. The overall post-secondary participation rate for the 17 to 20 age group increased from 33 per cent in the 2000-01 academic year to over 60 per cent in the 2006-07 academic year.

Degrees, up to doctoral level, awarded locally are widely recognised by institutions of higher learning around the world. All UGC-funded institutions have well-established quality assurance mechanisms and the academic standards of their programmes are guaranteed by, among other things, the institutions' appointment of external examiners from prominent overseas universities and colleges. The HKCAA validates courses and programmes offered by higher education institutions that are not self-accrediting.

The Financial Assistance Scheme for Designated Evening Adult Education Courses introduced for adult learners attending evening senior secondary courses (Secondary 4 to 7) at designated centres saw a total of 1 202 students enrol for courses in the 2005-06 school year.

The VTC will launch a pilot tailor-made education programme, the Certificate of Foundation Studies, for adult learners with low education standards (below Secondary 3) in early 2007. With accreditation by the HKCAA, graduates can attain a qualification equivalent to that of Level 1 of the proposed QF and Secondary 3 level.

The Government also subsidises non-governmental organisations which operate a variety of adult education programmes. In the 2005-06 school year, over 22 700 places were offered to students.

The Quality Education Fund (QEF) was established in 1998 with an allocation of $5 billion to support initiatives that promote quality education and schemes that recognise excellence in schools and teachers. The fund has processed nine calls of applications and approved up to $3.35 billion for 6 357 projects. To encourage a better use of the fund, the applications and assessment procedures were streamlined in 2006. As from September 2006, applications for funds under various categories can be made throughout the year. The QEF Secretariat also identifies good practices resulting from successful projects and organises dissemination activities for the education sector. The fund also sponsors the Chief Executive's Award for Teaching Excellence. In 2005-06, 80 mathematics and science teachers were presented with the award or a Certificate of Merit. In 2006-07, the award will be extended to the Arts Education Key Learning Area and the Personal, Social and Humanities Education Key Learning Area.

In 2006, Hong Kong students continued to achieve outstanding results in international competitions. Hong Kong teams garnered two gold, six silver and nine bronze medals in the International Mathematical Olympiad, International Physics Olympiad, International Olympiad Informatics and International Junior Science Olympiad. Hong Kong teams were champions in the International Robot Club Junior (Dance) and the Odyssey of the Mind Programme. Hong Kong students were also champions in the International Children's Painting Competition on the Environment 2006, Small Montmartre of Bitola, Macedonia 2006 and Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists 2006, and won Grand Awards and Special Awards in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

Support services are offered to individual schools through the school development officers (SDOs) of the Regional Education Offices (REOs). The aim is to bring about sustainable school development and to introduce new ideas in teaching and learning methods. SDOs work with school heads and teachers to resolve major areas of concern. In 2006, the focus of REO's support was on planning for school development, assessment for learning and peer lesson observation. SDOs also worked to nurture a quality culture in schools through the building of teacher networks and sharing sessions to promote good practices.