ENG-2005 — Page 192

158 Education

The review is being conducted in stages. Phase 1 of the review, which was due to be completed in March 2006, takes stock of the development of the post- secondary education sector since the announcement of the 2000 policy objective, presents the issues discussed and summarises the views and recommendations received. Phase 2 will focus on the implementation details of the Phase 1 recommendations, and other higher level and structural issues requiring more detailed analysis and deliberation.

Review of Pre-primary Education

A review of pre-primary education started in the 2005-06 school year in the wake of the policy goals, established in 2000, being achieved. The key issues to be examined include professional upgrading for teachers and principals, financial and supportive measures for parents and operators and the promotion of a quality assurance mechanism to further enhance the quality of pre-primary education.

School-based Support Services

In the 2004-05 school year, the School-based Professional Support Programmes financed by the Education Development Fund were implemented as scheduled. In the 2005-06 school year, building on the experience gained, the EMB will strive to enhance these programmes and improve their operation by taking into consideration the specific needs of schools arising from curriculum development, teacher development and school development. The School-based Support Services Office was established in September 2005 to coordinate school-based support services both inside and outside the EMB.

Overall Education Landscape

Expenditure on Education

In the 2005-06 financial year, the Government, once again, spent most on education. The approved recurrent government expenditure on education amounted to $49.1 billion (24.7 per cent of all recurrent expenditure) and total government expenditure was $58.6 billion (23.6 per cent of total expenditure).

Education Commission

The Education Commission is responsible for advising the Government on the overall educational objectives and policies, and coordinating the work of all other major education-related advisory bodies on the planning and development of education at all levels. The commission also advises the Government on implementation issues with important policy implications to ensure better synergy between policy formulation and implementation.

The commission has a chairman, a vice-chairman who is the Permanent Secretary for Education and Manpower, seven ex-officio members and a number of non-official members. The seven ex-officio members chair the Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications, the Curriculum Development Council, the HKEAA Council, the Quality Education Fund Steering Committee, the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research, UGC and the Vocational Training Council (VTC).