Chapter 8
Education
The government attaches great importance to education, as reflected in the increase in total government expenditure on education from $60.7 billion in 2010-11 to $112.3 billion in 2020-21 estimates, or 15.4 per cent of total government spending.
Of this, $99.6 billion is recurrent expenditure on education, accounting for 20.5 per cent of total recurrent government expenditure.
The Secretary for Education, who heads the Education Bureau, formulates, develops and reviews educational policies, secures funds from the government budget, and oversees the implementation of educational programmes with the support of the Permanent Secretary for Education.
The Secretary for Education receives advice from advisory boards and committees with. membership drawn from a wide cross section of the community. The Education Commission, which is a non-statutory body appointed by the Chief Executive, advises the Secretary for Education on overall educational objectives and policies and the priorities in implementing its recommendations, coordinates the work of major education-related advisory bodies, oversees the operation of the Quality Education Fund, and submits reports and recommendations to the Secretary for Education. The commission includes in its membership the chairpersons of eight key committees: the Committee on Professional Development of Teachers and Principals, the Committee on Self-financing Post-secondary Education, the Curriculum Development Council, the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority Council, the Quality Education Fund. Steering Committee, the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research, the University Grants Committee (UGC) and the Vocational Training Council (VTC).
The UGC is a non-statutory body appointed by the Chief Executive. It offers impartial and expert advice to the government on the funding and development of higher education, and provides assurance to the government and the community on the standards and cost-effectiveness of the operations of the eight publicly funded universities, known as UGC-funded universities.
Under the UGC's aegis are the Research Grants Council (RGC), which advises on the research needs of the academic sector and the distribution of research funding, and the Quality Assurance Council, which helps assure the quality of educational experiences in all programmes of the UGC-funded universities.
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