ENG-2007 — Page 197

Education | 149

Overall Education Landscape

Expenditure on Education

For the 2007-08 financial year, the approved estimate for recurrent government expenditure on education was $50.1 billion, equivalent to 24.4 per cent of all recurrent government expenditure, while the total estimate for government spending on education amounted to $57.2 billion, or 23 per cent of total government expenditure.

Education Commission

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

The commission has a chairman, a vice-chairman who is the Permanent Secretary for Education, seven ex-officio members and a number of non-official members. The seven ex-officio members comprise the chairmen of 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). The non-official members come from both education and non-education fields.

Early Childhood Education

All kindergartens and kindergarten-cum-child care centres are required to register under the Education Ordinance. Since 2004, all kindergartens have been required to employ Qualified Kindergarten Teachers. The aim is to upgrade the professional qualifications of all kindergarten teachers and principals to the certificate and bachelor's degree levels by the end of the 2011-12 school year.

The Government implemented in September 2007 the revised 'Guide to the Pre- primary Curriculum' which provides the basic principles and direction for pre-school educators to develop their own curriculum.

Meanwhile, the Government has steadily improved the teacher-pupil ratio in kindergartens to 1:15.

The Government has further enhanced the quality assurance system for kindergartens. Instead of conducting inspections, the Government has introduced a self-evaluation system, supported by an external review process. Kindergartens and kindergarten-cum-child care centres are encouraged to conduct annual self- evaluations based on common indicators developed for this purpose. The EDB will carry out external reviews to validate the results of these self-evaluations.

School Education

Nine-year free and universal basic education is provided for children aged 6 to 15 six years of primary education plus three years of junior secondary education.