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"The honour that comes with the awards will help boost the morale of members of school staff and will probably be treasured more than the cash involved. Recognition other than in monetary forms should also be considered," Professor Young said.
In order to encourage schools to strive for excellence and continuous improvement, the Commission also recommends the introduction of a pilot Quality Development Grant in 1997 to fund worthwhile innovative projects on a competitive basis.
It is suggested that initially, each successful application be granted a sum of not more than $100,000, depending on the nature and complexity of the project involved.
In addition, the Commission recommends the setting up of a Quality Development Committee to advise the Director of Education on all matters relating to quality school education.
The Commission supports the Education Department's initiative to adopt a new whole-school approach to inspections. Under this proposal, the Education Department will set up an integrated Quality Assurance Inspectorate to co-ordinate the work and to optimise the resources of the various inspection divisions of the department.
Recognising that the school funding arrangement should be more conducive to school quality reform, the ECR 7 consultation document recommends that schools should be given the necessary flexibility in the use of resources under a clear management and accountability system.
In order to achieve quality education, the Commission recommends that schools should develop a proper appraisal system for the timely counselling, training and development as well as performance appraisal of their staff members.
It is also suggested that training for key players in financial and human resources management should be strengthened in order to prepare them for the development of school-based management.
Other recommendations of the ECR 7 consultation document include:
a
Education and Manpower Branch (EMB) should undertake comprehensive review of the present advisory system in education to co- ordinate the efforts of numerous committees to improve the quality of school education;
Education Department should review the roles and functions of inspectors of schools in the light of the development of school-based management;
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