EDUCATION
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leading to the award of non-local higher academic or professional qualifications. Advertisements, premises and refund of fees for such courses are subject to regulation. Regulated courses conducted in collaboration with local tertiary institutes are exempted from registration under the ordinance. At December, 297 courses were registered and 261 courses exempted from registration.
The Government's Role
The Secretary for Education and Manpower, who heads the Education and Manpower Bureau of the Government Secretariat, formulates and reviews education policy, secures funds in the government budget, and oversees the effective implementation of educational programmes.
The Director of Education, who heads the Education Department, implements policies at kindergarten, primary and secondary levels. The department's main responsibilities include the provision and allocation of public sector school places; provision of education opportunities for children with special educational needs; development of school curricula; assurance of school education quality; monitoring of teaching standards; and support to schools with public funding and other facilities. The department also contributes to policy development and review.
Management of Schools and Tertiary Institutions
School Management Committees
Each aided school receives recurrent financial assistance from the Government and is operated under a letter of agreement with a sponsoring body that 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 1999–2000 school year, 1 199 aided schools were in the care of 504 sponsoring bodies. To increase the transparency of school management committees, the Education Department has conducted an exercise to update the information of school managers in the 1999-2000 school year. Subject to their individual consent, information such as name and occupation of the managers will be disclosed to the public.
School-based Management
To encourage schools to achieve quality education and to develop their own individuality and characteristics, school-based management is being implemented in stages. All public sector schools were required to submit a school report for the 1998-99 school year and to prepare an annual school plan before the end of that school year. They were also required to put in place a constitution for the school management committee, with a participatory decision-making mechanism, and a staff performance management system by the 2001-02 school year. In 1999, an Advisory Committee on School-based Management was set up to develop a framework of governance for school-based management which will enhance the transparency and accountability of schools, and provide for a system of checks and balances as more funding and operational responsibilities are devolved to them.
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.