B. Conditions for Employment of Short-term Supply Staff
3. In the case of acting-up with replacement (this involves acting in a functional post which carries a higher maximum salary point than that of the teacher’s
substantive rank) - 90% of the difference between the teacher’s substantive salary and the minimum salary of the higher rank in which he is acting, the rate will be revised to 100% after the first 180 calendar days of acting; or at a rate equivalent to the increment next on the rank-scale of the acting post above the level of the teacher’s substantive salary if it is the same or more than the minimum salary of the acting post.
4. In the case of doubling-up without replacement provided (this involves acting in a headship post which carries a higher maximum salary point than that of the teacher’s substantive rank in addition to undertaking his own duties) - 23%
of the minimum salary of the higher rank or the rate for acting-up in (3) above, whichever is the more.
5. Notes on award of acting allowance:
(a) The minimum 30-calendar-day qualifying period should include intervening Sundays and public holidays, and Sundays and public holidays immediately preceding and following the acting period.
However, Sundays and public holidays immediately preceding and following the acting period will not be included in calculating the acting allowance.
(b) School holidays can be counted as qualifying period and attract acting allowances provided that the teachers concerned are required to perform duties of the acting posts during the holidays. Such qualifying period should be recognized and properly recorded by school.
(c) The qualifying period may include up to a maximum of 3 consecutive days’ leave or absence in total (excluding sick leave and absence for authorized training and duty) taken during the acting period. Leave and absence in excess of 3 consecutive days will not be counted as part of the qualifying period.
(d) When a teacher acts in different ranks consecutively, each acting appointment should be counted individually and separately and cannot be aggregated for the purpose of meeting the minimum qualifying period for acting allowances.
(e) A teacher should only draw one acting allowance at any one time and schools should not make concurrent multiple acting appointments.
(f) Acting appointments can be made on operational grounds even if no acting allowance is payable.
In addition to notes (a) – (f) above, primary and primary special schools should also note the following points:
(g) If the Principal or the deputy head is of the same rank as the teacher appointed to act as the Principal or the deputy head, the acting Principal or acting deputy head will then draw the responsibility allowance for an AM/PSM Principal or deputy head, necessitating the Principal or deputy head on leave to forfeit such allowance during the whole period of leave.
(h) In the case of a teacher appointed to act in a headship post higher than his substantive rank, he will receive the appropriate acting allowance and not the responsibility allowance. Under no circumstances would an acting Principal be allowed to draw both the acting and responsibility allowances.
(i) Leave exceeding 30 days or leave necessitating the grant of another teacher to act as the Principal or deputy head for the whole or part of his leave involves the forfeiture of the responsibility allowance for the whole period of leave.
C. Special Education Allowance
The Special Education Allowance (SEA) will be payable to teaching staff who are engaged in special education duties and have completed the recognized special education training as follows:
1. The SEA has ceased to be payable to new recruits and existing teaching staff who have not yet commenced their recognized special education training in the 2002/03 school year. This is applicable to all teaching staff of special classes, intensive remedial teaching programmes, integrated education programmes and aided special schools (abbreviated as teaching staff of special education hereunder).
2. For the existing teaching staff of special education, who are in receipt of the SEA or pursuing their studies in recognized special education courses, the following arrangements will apply:
(a) Teaching staff of special education, including Principal I in the aided sector, who are in receipt of the SEA will retain an SEA of one salary point
above their substantive salary, provided that the sum of their substantive salary and the SEA should not exceed their maximum pay point on their respective pay scale regardless of their existing pay point, except in the circumstances specified in sub-paragraph (b) below.
(b) Teaching staff of special education who have already reached the maximum pay point in the 2002/03 school year will be allowed to retain an SEA of one salary point above the maximum pay point.
(c) Teaching staff of special education who have been pursuing their studies in recognized special education courses in the 2002/03 school year are, in principle, allowed to be paid an SEA of one salary point above their substantive salary with effect from September of the following school year on successful completion of the recognized special education courses, provided that they remain as teaching staff of special education.
However, the sum of their substantive salaries and the SEA should not exceed their maximum pay point on their respective pay scales.
(d) Teaching staff of special schools who are in receipt of other responsibility allowance are not allowed to retain the SEA with effect from 1 September 2003.
3. The above arrangements will also be applicable to the existing teaching staff of special education on transfer to another aided school performing the duties as a teacher in a special education programme or to another aided special school without a break of service, provided that the posts they fill
(a) have been created in the 2002/03 school year, or
(b) are created after the 2002/03 school year due to expansion of classes or with explicit permission of the Education and Manpower Bureau for the post-holders to retain their SEA.
4. All teaching staff of practical schools and skills opportunity schools who are in receipt of SEA will cease to receive SEA upon full mainstreaming of their school.
D. All allowances stated in this Section are subject to review by the Permanent Secretary from time to time when necessary, and will be treated as salary for provident fund purpose.
Section 8 Attachment A Special Education Programmes in Ordinary Aided Secondary / Primary Schools
1. In ordinary aided secondary schools, special education programme is conducted as Integrated Education Programme.
2. Details of the special education programme conducted in ordinary aided primary schools are as follows:-
Size of Programme 1. (a) The number of students in a special education programme (currently known as Intensive Remedial Teaching Programme) for children with learning difficulties is 8 - 15, except with the written permission of the Permanent Secretary;
(b) The Permanent Secretary may from time to time approve the ratio of students per programme in respect of such category of students in need of special educational provision, as may seem to him necessary.
Ratio of Teachers
per programme 2. The approved ratio of teachers to programme in an ordinary primary school is 1 teacher per programme.
These teachers will form part of the staff establishment of the school.
Class Grant for Non-fee-charging School
3. (a) A Class Grant is made in respect of the Intensive Remedial Teaching Programme and is paid monthly in advance.
(b) Items of expenditure which may be charged to the Class Grant account are identical to those class-based items chargeable to the School and Class Grant.
Class Grant for
Fee-charging School 4. Subject to the approval of the Permanent Secretary, a Class Grant is made to a special education programme operated in a fee-charging school.
Note: Apart from the above details, special education programme in aided primary schools should be operated in accordance with the Code of Aid for Aided Schools.
Section 9 Administration Grant for Aided Secondary Schools
1. The Administration Grant is provided for aided secondary schools to employ administrative and janitor staff to meet their specific needs. The Incorporated Management Committee should be responsible for the appointment, dismissal, salaries and terms of service of all staff employed with the Administration Grant in accordance with all employment related rules and regulations under relevant ordinances. Expenditure on cleaning services of the school premises by contract may also be chargeable to the Administration Grant. The amount of grant is normally assessed on a per class basis at the rate, which is adjusted annually in accordance with the movement of the Composite Consumer Price Index, as announced in the relevant circular issued by the Permanent Secretary.
2. Calculation of administrative staff grant element and janitor staff grant element in the Administration Grant per class is based on the notional posts in a standard aided secondary school with 29 classes as follows –
(a) Administrative Staff
Post No.
Secretary 1
Clerical Officer 1
Assistant Clerical Officer 1
Typist 1
Clerical Assistant 1
5 (b) Janitor Staff
Post No.
Office Assistant 1
Workshop/Laboratory Attendant 3
Workman II 9
13
3. The janitor staff grant element payable to a secondary school may be calculated individually on an operating class basis or on a classroom equivalent basis according to the janitor staff requirement for the school in relation to the number of classrooms, special rooms, laboratories and workshops.
Section 10 Administration Grant / Revised Administration Grant for
Aided Primary, Special Schools and Boarding Section of Aided Secondary Schools 1. The Administration Grant or Revised Administration Grant is provided for aided
primary, special schools and the boarding section of aided secondary schools for the employment of clerical and janitor staff to meet their specific needs as follows –
(a) Administration Grant
For a school that has elected to receive the Administration Grant, the salaries for the clerical and janitor staff employed will be paid out of the Administration Grant. The Incorporated Management Committee should be responsible for the appointment, dismissal, salaries and terms of service of these non-teaching staff in accordance with all employment related rules and regulations under relevant ordinances.
(b) Revised Administration Grant
For a school that has elected to receive the Revised Administration Grant, the salaries of the janitor staff will be paid through the Revised Administration Grant, while the approved salaries of the clerical staff will be paid through the Salaries Grant as provided under Section 10.1 of the Code of Aid for Aided Schools. The Incorporated Management Committee should be responsible for the appointment, dismissal, salaries and terms of service of the janitor staff in accordance with all employment related rules and regulations under relevant ordinances.
2. Schools are given an option to choose between the two Grants. Schools that opt for the Revised Administration Grant may opt for the Administration Grant if they so prefer. However, the option once exercised in favour of the Administration Grant is final and irrevocable.
3. Both the Administration Grant and the Revised Administration Grant can be used for procuring ancillary services (e.g. the cleaning of the school premises) by contract.
4. The clerical and janitor staff entitlements as shown at Section 1B for aided primary schools and Section 1C for special schools, with rates set with reference to the mid-point salary of an entitled clerical post and the maximum point salary of the janitor post at the September 1999 level, are used as the basis for calculating the amount of the Administration Grant, or Revised Administration Grant where appropriate. The rates are adjusted annually in accordance with the movement of the Composite Consumer Price Index and will be announced in the relevant circular issued by the Permanent Secretary.
5. A school that opts for the Revised Administration Grant will be required to follow the guide to appointment for clerical staff shown at Section 4.
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Section 11 Expanded Operating Expenses Block Grant (OEBG)
1. Purpose
The Expanded OEBG aims at providing IMC schools with more financial autonomy in the deployment of funds for educational purposes.
2. Features
(a) The Expanded OEBG includes virtually all non-salary recurrent grants to aided schools, except those which are ad-hoc in nature, those which are currently under review, and those which are paid for very specific purpose on a reimbursement basis. The full list of constituent grants (separate list for aided mainstream schools and special schools) under the Expanded OEBG for each year will be announced through circular. The Expanded OEBG is provided as one block grant covering ambits of all its constituent grants and schools are free to deploy the funding flexibly.
(b) Schools may use the surplus under the Expanded OEBG on items chargeable to other EMB subsidies outside the Expanded OEBG. In addition, schools may use the surplus to top up non-recurrent expense for projects approved/funded by the EMB. Subject to certain limits, schools may also use the surplus to top up recurrent expenses arising from other government-funded projects, furniture and equipment and other facilities or educational services acquired through private donations or other fund-raising schemes. The computation and annual adjustment of provision of the Expanded OEBG are based mostly on the number of operating classes, except for some school specific grants i.e. grants that are of special nature and only applicable to selected schools with special circumstances. They will continue to be determined separately in accordance with the prevailing criteria applicable to each of these grants.
3. Ambit
(a) The Expanded OEBG covers ambits of all its constituent grants. It can be used for purposes related to teaching and learning, operation and development of the schools e.g. expenditure incurred from operating cost such as telephone and electricity charges of the schools, procurement of consumables and teaching aid, conduct of educational programmes for students, hiring of staff outside permanent staff establishment, procurement of stores, furniture and equipment, cleansing, security and other necessary services.
(b) It can also be deployed to finance professional development for teaching staff and any other educational purposes endorsed by the Incorporated Management Committees (IMCs). For employment of staff, all expenditure related to salaries, leave entitlement and statutory benefits such as Mandatory Provident Fund, long service payment and severance payment can also be covered by the Expanded OEBG.
4. Principles and rules on usages
(a) Schools should always put the interest of students as the first priority. They should ensure that expenditure incurred is reasonable and necessary for educational purposes. Expenditure on celebration, entertainment, flower
baskets, fruit baskets, wreaths and all other similar items for ceremonial activities or tributes to other schools should be kept to the absolute minimum.
Schools should set their own spending priorities and allocation in a cost effective manner, having regard to the objectives and policies laid down in the School Development Plan and Annual School Plan.
(b) In utilizing the funding flexibility of the Expanded OEBG, schools are requested to take notice of the following:
(i) Schools should ensure that the total spending should be kept within the amount of provision and avoid deficits as far as possible. Any deficits arising should be borne by school's own funds or by the school sponsoring body (SSB).
(ii) Subsidy will continue to be provided for Provident Fund/MPF contributions in respect of janitors, clerical and other supporting staff employed within the provision allocated for the school-specific Administration Grant/Revised Administration Grant.
(iii) Surplus under the Expanded OEBG can be used to top up no more than:
♦ 50% of recurrent cost arising from government-funded projects; and
♦ 25% of recurrent cost arising from furniture and equipment and other facilities or educational service acquired through private donations or other fund-raising schemes.
In this connection, schools should establish proper procedures, objective criteria and clear approving authority for transferring the surplus out of the Expanded OEBG.
(c) Schools are reminded that non-education related expenditure as listed below are not allowed to be charged to the Expanded OEBG:
(i) fringe benefits for staff, including housing benefits, provision of food allowance, travelling allowance, medical expenses etc;
(ii) loans to staff or third parties;
(iii) contribution of salaries of staff in the headquarters or other service units of the school sponsoring body;
(iv) donations; and
(v) any other items announced via circular/circular memorandum issued by the Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB) from time to time.
In the event that expenditure is found improperly charged to the Expanded OEBG, the EMB would request the school concerned to explain the anomalies.
In the absence of acceptable explanation, the school concerned should make good such expenditure by charging it to its own funds.
5. Computation and adjustment
(a) The lists of constituent grants of the Expanded OEBG for aided mainstream and special schools respectively will be announced through annual circular.
Schools may refer to the relevant circular in force for the lists of constituent grants for the current school year. Existing aided schools will receive the
Expanded OEBG starting from the next school year following the establishment of IMC whereas new schools will receive the Expanded OEBG when the schools come into operation.
(b) For both existing and new schools, the level of provision of the school specific grants, if applicable, will continue to be determined separately in accordance with the prevailing criteria applicable to each of these grants. In addition,
(i) for existing schools
A snapshot of the aggregate of prevailing provision of the constituent grants, other than the school-specific grants mentioned above, of each school concerned in the immediate past school year before the application of the Expanded OEBG will be taken. This snapshot will be taken as level of provision and known as the Baseline Reference. In subsequent years, the Baseline Reference will be adjusted in accordance with the June-on-June movement of the Composite Consumer Price Index (CCPI) each year as well as the change in the number of operating classes multiplied by the Average Per Class Rate at the time. That is,
Provision of
Expanded OEBG = Baseline Reference + School Specific Grants
Annually adjusted Baseline Reference =
Original Baseline Reference adjusted
by CCPI + Per
Class x Rate
Change in number of
classes (ii) for new schools
For a new aided school, the level of provision will be determined by a Basic Provision (A); Average Per Class Rate (B) multiplied by the number of operating classes (denoted by N). That is,
Provision of
Expanded OEBG = A + B x N + School Specific Grants
(c) The values of A, B and rates for school specific grants, which are also adjusted by the CCPI, will be announced through annual circular. School may refer to relevant circular in force for these rates for the current school year. In addition, PSEM may adjust these rates as situation merits, e.g. schools having more than one lift incurring higher maintenance charges or with the Set-Up Fund account not being closed.
6. Option for developing schools
For aided schools that are newly operated or in the midst of their developmental stage and have yet to attain the full range of levels of classes, they may opt for the method for new schools or continue to adopt the method for existing schools when they establish their IMCs. The option is irrevocable.
7. Composition of constituent grants
Where necessary to reflect the changing educational needs, PSEM may amend the constituent grants under the Expanded OEBG, such as adding of new grants for new
education initiatives, deleting obsolete grants, subsuming school-specific grant into the Basic Provision (A) and/or the Average Per Class rate (B) or vice versa.
8. Accounting arrangements
(a) The annual provision of the Expanded OEBG will normally be released to schools on a quarterly basis in September, November, February and May.
Each payment shall normally be of an amount equivalent to three months’
provision. For certain school specific grants where the level of provision cannot be ascertained at the beginning of a school year or in the event of overpayment, adjustment or other special circumstances, the payment schedule and the amount of payment will be adjusted as appropriate.
(b) Schools should keep a separate ledger to clearly record all the income and expenditure chargeable to the Expanded OEBG. While there is no demarcation among grants, schools should take into consideration that they may be required to report on the expenditure specified for programmes under certain school specific grants like Capacity Enhancement Grant. As such, schools should devise their books and accounts in a way that can facilitate them to fulfil the reporting requirements, where necessary.
9. Surplus retention
Schools may retain a maximum surplus of up to 12 months’ provision of the Expanded OEBG for the year in which the grant is provided. PSEM may under exceptional circumstances, agree that individual school can retain surplus in excess of this level.
10. Accountability
(a) The implementation of the Expanded OEBG gives schools greater autonomy in the deployment of resources and, in turn, the delivery of education to their students. The quid pro quo to such autonomy is that schools have to be more transparent and accountable to the community for their performance and the use of funds. Schools must establish an accountability framework under which there are sufficient checks and balances to guard against any untoward developments. Two of the key elements of a proper accountability framework are schools’ internal self-regulation and external monitoring. Self-regulation takes place through annual planning, budgeting and review by the schools themselves.
(b) For external monitoring, schools are required to disclose financial information properly in their Annual School Plan and Annual School Report, which are to be uploaded onto the website of the schools. In addition, IMCs are also required to submit to the EMB their annual accounts including information as required by the EMB, which will have been audited by a certified public accountant (practising) as defined in the Professional Accountants Ordinance (Cap. 50).
(c) The IMC of a school is responsible for the proper management, administration and operation of the school. It handles funds and assets received from the Government in the capacity of a trustee. Therefore, it is obliged to hold accountability for any improper use of public resources.