EDUCATION
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of teaching standards; and support to schools with public funding and other facilities. The department also contributes to policy development and review.
The Chief Executive announced in his 1997 Policy Address the decision to adopt the recommendation in the Education Commission Report No. 7 to conduct a review of the organisational and management structure of the Education Department. This aims to enhance the department's effectiveness in the co-ordination and implementation of various initiatives. This is salutary to the long-term development of quality education.
With the help of a management consulting firm, the review was undertaken in early 1998 and the major recommendations of the consultants and the Administration's initial response were put out for consultation in July 1998. On the basis of views received, the government will set up a dedicated implementation team within the Education Department to formulate detailed proposals and the implementation schedule.
Management of Schools and Tertiary Institutions
School Management Committees
Each school registered under the Education Ordinance has a management committee responsible for the education of the pupils and proper operation of the school.
Each aided school receives recurrent financial assistance from the government and is operated under a letter of agreement with a sponsoring body which contributes the full cost of furnishing and equipping the premises. This body manages the school through a management committee headed by a supervisor. In the 1998-99 school year, 1 190 aided schools were in the care of 503 sponsoring bodies.
School-based Management
To encourage schools to find their own ways to achieve quality education and to develop their own individuality and characteristics, the government continued to encourage and help all schools to practise school-based management by 2000. Schools are expected to draw up school development plans, produce annual school reports, enact a constitution for their school management committee and establish a decision-making mechanism with participation from teachers, parents and alumni. They are also expected to develop procedures for fair and formal staff appraisal and for staff development according to teachers' needs.
Apart from giving schools more decision-making power and more flexibility in the use of resources, the government provides training to support school supervisors, managers, principals and teachers in implementing school-based management.
Governing Bodies of Tertiary Institutions
Each tertiary institution has its own structure of governance, set out in its ordinance. The structure includes a governing body (called the court, the council or the board of governors), a body to regulate academic affairs (called the senate or the academic board) and in some cases, an executive body.
The Chief Executive of the HKSAR is empowered by the ordinances to appoint the chairman of each governing body, as well as a prescribed number of members. This