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"The proposed Quality Assurance Unit (QAU) will be a small professional body, independent of other agencies, and accountable to the Secretary for Education and Manpower.
"It will visit a number of schools each year, either by selection or by invitation, study each school as a whole, or a certain highlighted aspect of work across different schools, and produce detailed written reports for the attention of the school and those most closely connected with it.
"The QAU will be able to define benchmarks of best practice in schools catering for students of all kinds and levels of ability," Dr Cheng said.
"Another key feature of the new approach will be a better flow of information. Detailed reports by the QAU will be seen by those most closely connected with the school, and summaries will be made available more widely.
"Based on its visits, the QAU will compile reports on the overall quality of school education. It will also publish reports on specific aspects, such as the quality of school library services, or the ability of schools to make meaningful staff development plans given their current resources and the constraints of employment contracts.
"In this way, wider issues of quality in schools and their support services can be brought to the attention of policy-makers and the public."
Consequential changes
Dr Cheng noted three areas where the report's proposals will have an impact on existing bodies and their functions.
"Firstly, we propose a review of the Board of Education's role, so that it can advise on all aspects of school education, not just those which come under the Education Department," Dr Cheng said.
"Secondly, we propose a review of curriculum development activities, to see whether the compromise arrangement arising from ECR4 (the creation of the Curriculum Development Institute within the Education Department) is working well. In principle, the working group feels that curriculum activities, like teacher education, are an academic function best performed outside the civil service environment.