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148 Education

maximum discretionary places quota for each secondary school has increased from 20 per cent to 30 per cent and the number of schools that students may apply for admission has increased from one to two, unrestricted by school nets. At the Central Allocation stage, students may choose a maximum of three secondary schools from any school net, in addition to a maximum of 30 schools within their own school net. These revisions will increase greatly the choices for parents and enable schools to have more diversified development.

Review of Post-secondary Education Sector

To improve the competitiveness of Hong Kong's workforce and upgrade the quality of its manpower in a knowledge-based economy, the Chief Executive announced in the 2000 Policy Address that within 10 years, 60 per cent of Hong Kong's senior secondary school leavers would have access to post-secondary education. This objective was achieved five years ahead of schedule: the post- secondary education participation rate increased from about 33 per cent in the 2000-01 school year to over 60 per cent in the 2005-06 school year. The development has brought about not just more learning opportunities but also more diversified progression pathways for our younger generation.

A review of the post-secondary education sector was initiated in August 2005. Phase 1, which was conducted by a steering committee comprising representatives from the Government, service providers, quality assurance agencies and members of the community, was completed in March 2006 and a review report has been issued.

Phase 2 which focuses on the way forward and

the way forward and development of the post-secondary sector, commenced in late 2006 and is expected to be completed by mid-2007.

School-based Support Services

The Education Development Fund (EDF) was set up in 2004 with an allocation of $550 million to support education reform measures. With the injection of the EDF, the EMB had expanded its support services to 305 secondary schools, 461 primary schools and 15 special schools in the 2005-06 school year. In the 2006-07 school year, similar school-based support services were extended to the pre-primary sector a 9 per cent increase in support services to the school and preschool

sectors.

Major Challenges Ahead

Increased investment in pre-primary education

Pre-primary education is a key learning stage preceding the nine-year basic education. The Government's policy is to ensure that quality and healthy development are sustained while providing for flexibility of operation for the private sector. Currently about $1.1 billion has been allocated annually to subsidise pre-primary education. When the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme is fully implemented, an additional $2 billion will be invested in pre-primary education. To assist parents in making informed choices of kindergartens, the Government will require kindergartens to comply with prescribed disclosure requirements and will

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