Early Childhood Education

In September 2002, 143 000 children were enrolled in 777 kindergartens. Most kindergartens operate in half-day sessions.

    The Government continues to promote the development of quality kindergarten education through upgrading the qualifications of kindergarten principals and teachers. All newly appointed kindergarten principals should have completed the Certificate in Kindergarten Education course or its equivalent. All kindergartens are now required to employ at least 60 per cent professionally trained Qualified Kindergarten Teachers (QKT), and this will be increased to 100 per cent by 2004.

    The Kindergarten Subsidy Scheme introduced in 1995 helps kindergartens meet the required proportion of QKTs without having to increase school fees substantially and causing a financial burden for parents. Improvements have been made in 2002 to encourage kindergartens to employ more QKTs. Since 2001, the teacher-pupil ratio in kindergartens has been improved by three phases from 1:20 (Nursery Classes) and 1:30 (Kindergarten Classes) to 1:15 in both classes.

    The Government enhances the development of quality early childhood education by promoting school self-evaluation and an external monitoring mechanism. Since 2000, quality assurance inspection has been implemented in kindergartens. A full set of Performance Indicators for kindergartens has been published in 2002 to serve as the basis for self-evaluation and quality assurance inspection by the Education Department.

    Following a public consultation in mid-2002, a Working Party formed between the Education Department and the Social Welfare Department to advise the Government on harmonisation of pre-primary services will finalise its recommendations in early 2003. Preparatory arrangements, including making legislative amendments, are in progress with a view to implementing the harmonisation measures from the 2004–05 school year onwards.

School Education

In Hong Kong, free and universal basic education is provided for children aged six to 15 to enjoy six years of primary education plus three years of basic secondary education. Admission to Primary 1 in aided and government schools is through a centralised system, and at the end of Primary 6 all students are provided with secondary school places. Most secondary schools offer three-year basic and two-year senior secondary courses leading to the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) as well as a two-year sixth-form matriculation course leading to the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination. HKCEE candidates apply for subsidised Secondary 6 places according to an established Secondary 6 admission procedure. In September 2002, 432 500 children were enrolled in government and aided primary schools and 408 700 children in government and aided secondary schools. The government and aided school places make up about 90 per cent of the school places.

    For the 698 government and aided primary schools, the student-to-teacher ratio was about 20:1. In the 2001–02 school year, the target of raising the number of graduate teaching posts in primary schools to 35 per cent was achieved. In the 2002–03 school year, 60 per cent of the school places were offered on a whole-day mode. More primary schools will be converted into whole-day operation.

    The 405 government and aided secondary schools were operating in whole-day mode and offering the grammar, technical or prevocational curriculum. The student-to-teacher ratio was about 18:1 and the ratio of graduate to non-graduate teachers about 7:3. Starting from the 2002–03 school year, all Secondary 3 students having the ability and wishing to continue with their study are given the opportunity to receive subsidised Secondary 4 education or vocational training. In 2002, 27 300 subsidised Secondary 6 places were available for HKCEE candidates.

    To inject more diversity into the school system so as to give parents wider choices, the Government in 1999 introduced various measures to facilitate the development of Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) schools and non-profit-making private independent schools. These measures include allocating government-built school premises for operation of DSS schools, allocating land at a nominal premium with a capital grant for construction of DSS/non-profit making private independent schools, and further improvement of the terms of DSS schools since the 2001–02 school year. In September 2002, there were 40 DSS schools, offering 3 per cent of the school places. From 2002–03 up to the 2007–08 school year, a total of 10 non-profit-making private independent schools will commence operation.

    Fifty-five international schools and 15 schools operated by the English Schools Foundation were operating in Hong Kong in September 2002. These schools form an important social infrastructure which maintains Hong Kong's status as an international business centre and a vibrant cosmopolitan city. They offer different non-local curricula, namely, American, Australian, British, Canadian, French, German-Swiss, International Baccalaureate, Japanese, Korean and Singaporean, and provide a total of 32 300 places.

    The Education Commission (EC) is responsible for advising the Government on the overall educational objectives and policies, and the priorities for implementation as well as coordinating the work of all other major education-related advisory bodies on the planning and development of education at all levels. Following the coming merger of the Education and Manpower Bureau and the Education Department (ED), the Government intends to merge the EC and the Board of Education, which advised the ED on educational matters, in early 2003 to streamline the consultation process. After the merger, the EC will also advise on those implementation issues that have important policy implications with a view to ensuring better synergy between policy formulation and implementation.

Special Education

The Government's main policy objective is to integrate children with special educational needs into the community through coordinated efforts by non-governmental organisations with government support. While students with special educational needs or with a mild disability may benefit from receiving education in ordinary schools, special schools are operated for those with severe or multiple disabilities. With specially trained staff, a tailored curriculum, smaller class size and an adaptive physical setting, special schools help raise the potential of the target students to the maximum possible.

    Since 1997, mainstream schools have been encouraged to adopt a whole-school approach to supporting students with special educational needs or with a mild disability. In the 2002–03 school year, 116 mainstream schools adopted this approach and supported 614 target students.

    In September 2002, there were 62 special schools of which 19 provided boarding facilities. In the 2002–03 school year, special schools provide about 8 900 day places and over 1 000 boarding places.

    It is considered that gifted students also have special educational needs. To develop their potential, a Three-tier Approach has been adopted to foster the provision of a school-based gifted education service at the levels of school-based whole class, off-site support measures, and school-based pull-out programmes, i.e. programmes that are conducted outside the regular classroom, for exceptionally gifted students. The Fung Hon Chu Gifted Education Centre develops various resource packages for use in schools in support of the school-based provision of gifted education.

Vocational Education and Technical Training

The Vocational Training Council (VTC) provides publicly funded courses at nine campuses of its Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) and 18 training and development centres. Separate levy-funded authorities also provide industrial training for the clothing and construction industries.

    At the craft level, the IVE continues to offer courses in various disciplines to students who have completed Secondary 3 education. The number of craft-level graduates in 2001–02 was 582 full-time, 1 601 part-time-day and 1 150 part-time-evening. The enrolment of craft-level students in 2002–03 was 1 825 full-time, 3 286 part-time-day and 2 745 part-time-evening.

    The VTC continues to run Foundation Diploma (FD) and Certificate in Vocational Studies (CVS) for Secondary 5 and Secondary 3 school leavers, respectively. Together, these two alternative study routes provide 5 590 year-one places in 2002–03.

    The nine IVE campuses provide the bulk of vocational education at technician and higher technician levels through diploma and higher diploma courses grouped under nine broad disciplines that cover most major economies in Hong Kong. From 2002–03 onward, the IVE also offers two-year higher diploma courses for Secondary 7 leavers.

    The overall number of IVE graduates in 2001–02 at technician and higher technician levels was 10 445 full time, 1 546 part-time day release and 5 156 part-time evening by mode. The enrolment for 2002–03 was 24 383 full-time, 2 635 part-time day release and 19 860 part-time evening.

    In response to the Government's initiative to increase post-secondary education provision from 30 per cent to 60 per cent for the relevant age groups within 10 years, the VTC set up its School of Business and Information Systems in 2001 to run self-financed full-time higher diploma programmes. In 2002–03, the school offered a total of 800 places.

    Besides the offer of pre-employment industrial training to new entrants to the labour market, the 18 training and development centres under the VTC also offer upgrading training for in-service personnel at craft, technician and technologist levels. Some 84 815 full-time and part-time places were available during the year for both school leavers and people in employment. Trade tests were offered to workers for a range of trades.

    The Construction Industry Training Authority provides training for the construction industry. It operates three construction training centres plus a management training centre, a trade testing centre and a safety training centre. The Authority is funded by a levy of 0.4 per cent on the value of all construction works exceeding $1 million. It offered a total of 4 744 full-time and 57 307 part-time training places in the 2002–03 training year. In addition, the Authority conducts certification tests for operators of construction plants, and offers trade tests for construction workers to enhance site safety and workmanship.

    The Clothing Industry Training Authority provides training courses for the clothing and footwear industries. It is financed by a levy of 0.03 per cent on the Free-on-Board value of clothing and footwear items produced in and exported from Hong Kong. It operates two training centres to deliver both full-time and part-time courses at technician and craftsman levels. Full-time courses are targeted at Form 3 and Form 5 school leavers. Part-time courses provide in-service personnel the opportunity to upgrade their technical knowledge and trade skills. The Authority also helps the Employees Retraining Board with retraining programmes for workers. In addition, it offers tailored coaching for individual garment companies to cater for their particular staffing needs. In 2001–02, the Authority provided training to 600 full-time and 4 300 part-time students.

    Five skills centres, three run by the VTC and two by non-governmental organisations, prepare people with a disability for open employment or mainstream vocational education and technical training. Collectively, they provide 1 251 full-time places, 482 of them residential, for the 2002–03 training year. The training is administered by an Inspectorate Unit in the VTC. The unit works closely with the Labour Department to ensure that training matches the demand of the local employment market. Some 83 per cent of people with a disability completing full-time courses in the skills centres entered open employment or enrolled in further courses in mainstream vocational education during the year.

Post-secondary Education

Apart from some 7 800 publicly funded places at sub-degree level offered by the City University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Hong Kong Institute of Education, Vocational Training Council and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, many higher education institutions have responded positively to the Chief Executive's policy initiative to provide more post-secondary education opportunities to secondary school leavers by offering self-financing programmes.

    In 2002–03, more than 80 accredited self-financing programmes are offered by 16 post-secondary providers, providing some 9 000 full-time student places at sub-degree level or above.

Higher Education

At present, 14 500 first-year-first-degree places are made available in institutions funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC), which aims to cover about 18 per cent of the 17–20 age group. On top of this, a further 24 per cent of people in the same age group have access to higher education in other forms (for example, sub-degree programmes and vocational training) or go to universities overseas. To enhance the global outlook of local students, the institutions are encouraged to enrol non-local undergraduates and taught postgraduates, who may number up to 4 per cent of the institutions' approved targets. Following a review in 2002, the institutions are not subject to any quota in recruiting non-local research postgraduates.

    Degrees up to doctorate level awarded locally are widely recognised by institutions of higher learning around the world. Academic standards are guaranteed by the institutions' appointment of external examiners from prominent overseas universities and colleges and the monitoring of teaching and learning quality assurance processes by the UGC. The Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation validates courses and programmes offered by the Hong Kong Institute of Education and some other non-UGC-funded institutions that are not self-accrediting.

    The student enrolment, in full-time equivalent (fte) terms of the eight UCG-funded institutions in the 2001–02 academic year was:

    The University Grants Committee (UGC) is appointed by the Chief Executive to advise on the development and funding of higher education and administer public grants to eight publicly funded higher education institutions. It comprises non-local academics, local academics and local professionals and businessmen. Civil servants staff its secretariat. The UGC was first established in 1965 to administer grants to the then two publicly funded universities, when there were only 4 000 full-time equivalent students.

    The UGC also plays a major role in quality assurance and promotion of excellence. Major initiatives include the Teaching and Learning Quality Process Reviews (TLQPRs) and Areas of Excellence scheme. The former enhances institutions' awareness of the importance of teaching and learning quality, and the latter aims to identify existing areas of strength in the UGC-funded institutions and develop them further through the concentration of efforts and resources.

    Hong Kong has 11 degree-awarding higher education institutions, eight of which are funded through the UGC. Seven of the eight are universities and the remaining one is a teacher education institution. Three other degree-awarding tertiary institutions are not funded by the UGC. They are the publicly funded Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the self-financing Open University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Shue Yan College.

    Each of the eight higher education institutions funded through the UGC is an autonomous statutory body with its own ordinance and governing body. They are free to manage their own affairs within the parameters of the law. The eight institutions 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.

Adult Education

The Government provides evening courses at primary to senior secondary levels for 11 170 adult learners in the 2002–03 school year. It also subvents a variety of adult education programmes operated by non-governmental organisations, offering a total of 26 730 places. In addition, the Government also provides other continuing education opportunities, including Project Yi Jin.

Project Yi Jin

The Government launched Project Yi Jin in October 2000 to provide an alternative route to expand the continuing education opportunities for secondary school leavers and adult learners. The programme aims to upgrade students' knowledge in biliteracy, trilingualism, information technology application through combining academic pursuits with practical skills training. Successful completion of the programme will lead to a qualification comparable to five passes in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination 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 modes. In the 2002–03 school year, about 3 500 full-time and part-time students enrolled in the programme.

Qualifications Framework

To facilitate the promotion of the manpower training market, the Government proposes to set up a qualifications framework (QF) and an associated quality assurance mechanism. The QF will be made up of a hierarchy of qualifications organised into different levels. It will provide clear information on standards of courses and providers in the mainstream, vocational and continuing education sectors. With clear and flexible progression pathways, learners can draw up their own road maps to upgrade their skills and pursue lifelong learning. Given a transparent quality assurance mechanism and through employers' participation in the process, qualifications in the QF will be given wide recognition.

    The Government has consulted the public on the proposal and is in the process of examining the feedback received. The Government will develop the QF step by step with the advice of the Manpower Development Committee, which was set up in October 2002 to advise the Government on policies for developing Hong Kong's human resources.