The following is issued on behalf of the Education Commission:

The Education Commission (EC) at its meeting today (March 23) reviewed the progress of the review of education system, examined all the proposed reform agenda items, their relative priorities, as well as the resource strategy for the reform.

The EC Chairman, Mr Antony Leung, said, "we have gone through the list of proposed reform agenda items today, considered the relative priorities and the sequence of implementation. During the discussion, we have examined the possible financial implications and the resource strategy for the reform."

"We welcome the proposal in the 2000-01 Budget to set aside $800 million to implement the education reform. But in the long run, much more resources might be required to carry out the reform. These should be contributed by both the Government and members of the public. We will have to look into the issue further," Mr Leung noted.

"The various working groups and sub-groups are making good progress. We expect that we would be able to put forward the reform proposals for public consultation in around May this year," he said.

Ends/Thursday, March 23, 2000