The following is issued on behalf of the Education Commission:
The Chairman of the Education Commission, Mr Tim Lui, today (October 16) welcomed the education initiatives announced in “The Chief Executive’s 2019 Policy Address”.
Mr Lui said, “As the Chairman of the Education Commission, I welcome the Government’s continuous devotion of resources to education and implementation of various measures to provide quality education and nurture talent.
“I am very glad to note that among the eight in-depth reviews proposed by the current-term Government, six have been completed and some recommendations have already been implemented. The Government will also introduce a series of measures to further cater for the different needs of students. These include, starting from the 2020/21 school year, enhancing the support for students with autism spectrum disorders by assisting public sector ordinary primary and secondary schools in phases to deploy a three-tier intervention model with proven effectiveness, and enhancing the staff establishment of the boarding section of aided special schools with a view to providing the boarders with better services. As regards the support for non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students, the Government will provide more resources to adjust the additional funding models for schools admitting a handful of NCS students in order to strengthen the support for NCS students in learning Chinese. The Government will also provide a series of parent education programmes for parents of NCS students to help them support their children’s learning and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the multiple pathways available to their children. Furthermore, to alleviate parents’ burden, the Government will, starting from the 2020/21 school year, regularise the provision of a student grant to provide each student with an annual allowance of $2,500. In addition, to facilitate more flexible use of existing space by schools and hence to enhance the teaching and learning environment and efficacy, the Government has reserved $1 billion to implement a time-limited minor internal conversion works programme for some 600 aided schools operating in premises built according to previous building standards.
“For post-secondary education, I am pleased to note that in the 2020/21 academic year, the Government will implement a scheme to provide fellowships to local students enrolled in targeted taught postgraduate programmes that meet Hong Kong’s development needs. The Government will also launch the Enhancement and Start-up Grant Scheme for Self-financing Post-secondary Education to provide financial support for self-financing institutions interested in offering sub-degree or undergraduate programmes that meet market needs but require high start-up costs. In addition, to further enhance the vocational and professional education and training learning experience, the Government will provide subsidies for trainees under the Training and Support Scheme of the Vocational Training Council to take part in study and exchange programmes outside Hong Kong for three years starting from the 2020/21 academic year.”
He added, “Education is the key to nurturing talent. I deeply believe that the Education Bureau will work closely with stakeholders when mapping out the implementation of the education initiatives. The Education Commission will continue to render its advice to further enhance the quality of education in Hong Kong and promote the sustainable development of Hong Kong.”
Ends/Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Issued at HKT 16:30