Progress Report on the Education Reform (2)

Chapter 3 : Going Forward with the Education Reform

First introduced in 2000, the Education Reform measures have been progressively implemented over the last two years. These include reforming the Primary One Admission (POA) System and Secondary School Places Allocation (SSPA) System, increasing access to post-secondary education and developing the Basic Competency Assessments in Chinese, English and Mathematics. In addition, a number of measures have also been introduced to provide support for teachers and schools, one of which is increasing the rate of Capacity Enhancement Grant for secondary schools to further reduce the teaching and non-teaching duties of teachers.

In its first public forum held in early 2002, the EC reported the achievements of the reform in its initial stage of implementation. It also collected the views of frontline educators and members of the public on the proposals and progress of the reform. The forum aimed to enhance the transparency of the reform process and to allow the public to have a better understanding of the timetable and measures of the reform.

The Way Forward

The EC will, in collaboration with the EMB, continue to take forward a series of yet-to-be-completed reform measures. We will review the SSPA system in tandem with the MOI policy in 2003/04. The basic principle of the MOI policy is to enable students to learn in an environment without any language barrier, so that they can acquire knowledge and develop high-order thinking more effectively. The MOI policy should dovetail with the long-term arrangement of the SSPA system. The review, with a focus on the learning effectiveness of students, should also work towards identifying a long-term policy that is acceptable to schools, parents and teachers.

We will prepare some statistics to allow assessment of the effectiveness of the reform some time after its implementation. Later on, we will consult the education profession on the proposed statistics.

Concluding Remarks

The ultimate aim of education is to help every single individual achieve whole-person development and to groom quality manpower to contribute to the prosperity and advancement of Hong Kong. It is therefore a community responsibility to support education and contribute to the Education Reform. We firmly believe that, with the concerted efforts and better communication, the desired objectives of the reform will be realised.

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