TNAG-1073-FCO40-1323-Policy-of-the-Government-of-Hong-Kong-on-education-including-1981 — Page 271

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of existing activities, or from introducing new activities within

approved policies with specifically agreed timing (i.e. corresponding

with Appendices I and II of the Five-Year Forecast).

(d) Shortfall/Over-provision

The subtraction of current and approved

planned provision from demand gives an indication of whether the

situation (in terms of achieving or maintaining the policy objective)

is static, improving or declining. This provides the background

against which alternative courses of action can be considered.

(e) Alternative courses of action

Once a shortfall has been identified,

a variety of possible courses of action can usually be presented.

These are grouped either as (i) courses of action aimed at achieving

the current policy objective by providing more of what is already

being done or by introducing new activities, where this is within

approved policy but without specifically agreed timing; or as (ii)

courses of action which are not within approved policy and which are

normally aimed at changing the policy objective by raising or

lowering the specific objectives or the standards of provision or

by altering the target groups. (Only the more important or realistic

courses of action are shown; these have to be costed and included

in Appendix III of the Five-Year Forecasts).

(f) Finance

4.12

This is a statement in the form of three appendices,

corresponding to Appendices I - III of the Five-Year Forecasts, of

the financial commitments arising from the programme.

The main programme statements relating to current approved

education policy are appended (appendix D). These have been extracted

from the Fifth Development Plan : 1980-81 to 1984-85.

4.13

The Development Plan, linked with the Five-Year Forecast of

Revenue and Expenditure, are together intended to provide a comprehensive

information system which is used in the following ways:

(a) Branch Secretaries are expected to use the information (i) to assess

the implications of existing plans or proposals on established