ENG-2011 — Page 191

Education | 151

for parents and financial support for professional upgrading of serving kindergarten principals and teachers.

About 82 per cent of students and 80 per cent of kindergartens benefit under the scheme. Eligible children aged above two years and eight months attending eligible local non-profit-making kindergartens can receive an annual fee subsidy of $16,000 in the 2011-12 school year. A means-tested fee remission scheme is also available to needy families to ensure that no child will be deprived of pre-primary education because of lack of means.

School Education

Twelve-year free education is provided to students in public sector schools with effect from the 2008-09 school year. Admissions to Primary 1 and Secondary 1 in public sector schools are administered through centralised systems. Under the NSS academic structure, Secondary 3 students will normally continue to receive senior secondary education in the same school or attend full-time vocational training courses run by the Vocational Training Council fully subvented by the Government.

In September 2011, a total of 265 620 children were enrolled in 457 public sector primary schools and 392 400 children in 400 public sector secondary schools. Public sector school places made up about 82 per cent of school places. In addition, there were 74 Direct Subsidy Scheme schools, offering about 8.2 per cent of the school places.

As of September 2011, there were 48 international schools, including 15 schools operated by the English Schools Foundation. These schools offer different non-local curricula, including the national curricula of the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Singapore and others such as the International Baccalaureate programmes, providing about 37 000 school places.

Special Education

The prevailing policy is that students with severe learning difficulties and multiple disabilities are offered places in special schools for more intensive support based on the assessment and recommendations of the respective specialists/medical professionals and upon parents' consent. Other students with special educational needs are enrolled in ordinary schools. There were 60 special schools, 20 of which have boarding facilities. Together, they provided around 9 100 school places and 1 100 boarding places. In September 2011, some 28 600 students with special educational needs were studying in public sector ordinary primary and secondary schools.

The Government also helps gifted students to develop their capabilities through different programmes. Teacher organisations called 'Gifted Education Teachers Networks' have been set up in different key learning areas to facilitate the sharing of resources and experiences in catering for gifted students.

The Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (The HKAGE) began operation in September 2008. From 2008 to 2011, the HKAGE organised and commissioned