Appendix 14
6. Subsidy will continue to be provided for provident fund (PF) contributions in respect of clerical and janitor staff employed within the provision allocated for the Administration Grant or the Revised Administration Grant. For staff employed with funds under other constituent grants of the OEBG, schools should meet the PF contributions with surplus funds under the OEBG or their own funds.
7. On the basis of the principles and rules stated above, the following items of expenditure shall not be charged to the OEBG:
(a) entertainment expenses such as lunch/dinner for staff not related to their discharge of duties;
(b) fringe benefits/welfare for staff, including housing benefits, provision of food or food allowance, medical expenses, travelling expenses etc.;
(c) penalty charges, fines and interest payments;
(d) loans to staff or third parties;
(e) subscription to staff associations and professional bodies;
(f) write-offs e.g. overpayments;
(g) administrative and management expenses, including salaries of staff, of the headquarters or other service units of the sponsoring organisation; and (h) donations.
The above list is not exhaustive. The Education Bureau will revise the list and inform schools of the changes as and when appropriate.
(updated on 1 September 2017)
Rates of the OEBG
8. When first introduced in the 2000/01 school year, the OEBG had the rates set on the basis of the rates approved for the 1999/2000 school year. The OEBG rates will be revised annually in accordance with the movement of the Composite Consumer Price Index. The Education Bureau will also review the need to revise in real terms the rates of individual grants as and when required.
Surplus Retention
9. To give schools greater flexibility, schools are allowed to retain surplus balance up to 12 months’ provision of the OEBG. Applications for accumulation of surpluses in excess of 12 months’ provision will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.
10. Schools should ascertain the surplus balances of grants under the General Domain and the Special Domain respectively. The surpluses should be totalled and if this total exceeds the 12 months’ provision of the prevailing level of the OEBG, schools should return the excess to the Education Bureau.
11. When the surplus exceeds the 12 months’ provision, schools are free to decide from which constituent grant the excess may be clawed back by the Education Bureau.
Expenditure Control & Accountability
12. To ensure that the OEBG funds are spent properly and cost-effectively, schools should obtain directives from their SMCs regarding the scope, criteria and rules for allocating funds. Schools should ensure that the approved budget is followed in incurring expenditure. To cope with urgent or unforeseeable circumstances, schools may consider seeking delegation of the authority from SMCs for making changes to the budget up to a certain financial limit.
13. Schools should ensure that the total expenditure is kept within the amount of the OEBG. Any deficit will have to be met by the schools' own funds. Also, if expenditure is found improperly incurred or charged to the OEBG funds, the school should make good such expenditure by charging it to its own funds.
Accounting and Reporting Requirements
14. Schools should continue to maintain separate ledger accounts for each constituent grant of the OEBG. In addition, schools should keep a General Domain Control Account and a Special Domain Control Account for the purpose of recording and monitoring the surpluses. Schools should also report periodically to their SMCs the expenditure position of the OEBG.
15. Schools should submit audited annual accounts and such other financial statements in accordance with the format as required by the Education Bureau.
The auditors should certify that the OEBG funds have been used in accordance with the ambit and rules as promulgated in the Code of Aid and in circulars issued by the Education Bureau from time to time.
Appendix 15
Composite Furniture and Equipment Grant
Ambit
1. The Composite Furniture and Equipment Grant (CFEG) covers -
(a) Furniture & Equipment (F&E) items to meet the needs of school and students;
(b) maintenance/repairs fees for F&E items; and
(c) insurance premium for non-standard F&E items for school portions.
Schools may make reference to the F&E lists for standard design schools issued by the Education Bureau.
Principles and Rules on Usage
2. The CFEG provides schools with greater flexibility in the use of resources.
Schools should set their spending priorities and allocations in line with the objectives and policies laid down by their School Management Committees (SMCs). In exercising the flexibility, schools should always bear in mind that the interest of students should come first. They should ensure that the expenditure incurred is reasonable and necessary for educational purposes and that the procured F&E items are properly recorded, managed and protected from loss or damage. In addition, schools should ensure that the CFEG is able to cover all the expenditures.
Grant Rate
3. The rate will be adjusted annually in accordance with the movement of the Composite Consumer Price Index.
Procurement, Financial and Accounting Arrangements 4. Procurement and Financial Arrangements
Within the amount of the CFEG available in school, there is no financial limit for F&E items to be purchased. Schools should adhere to the guidelines on tendering and purchasing procedures and any guidelines the Permanent Secretary may issue.
5. Accounting Arrangements
Schools should maintain a separate account named “Composite Furniture and Equipment Grant Account” to record the income and expenditure of the CFEG . The cost of the procured F&E should be captured in the Balance Sheet under the headings of “ Fixed Assets for Furniture and Equipment” and “Composite Furniture and Equipment Grant Utilised”. In addition, schools are required to record the items procured in the Fixed Assets Register.
6. Expenditure Control
(a) To ensure that the CFEG funds are spent properly and effectively, schools should obtain directives from their SMCs regarding the scope, criteria and rules of allocating funds. Schools should devise their own budget on how to use the CFEG funds and seek the approval of their SMCs of the budget and make the approved budget transparent to parents and teachers.
(b) Schools should ensure that the total expenditure is kept within the amount of the CFEG. Also, if any expenditure is found improperly incurred or charged to the CFEG funds, schools are required to make good such expenditure by non-government funds.
Accountability
7. Schools have to account for the proper utilization of the CFEG by
(a) ensuring that they have suitable F&E items for the delivery of educational services and that such F&E items are properly recorded, managed and protected from loss or damage;
(b) developing accountable school-based procedures for F&E acquisition/
replacement, monitoring and evaluation;
(c) relating the school budget, including the budget for F&E, to the annual school plan;
(d) keeping a separate account named “Composite Furniture and Equipment Grant Account” to record the income and expenditure of the CFEG; and
(e) making available the school report with a financial statement for stakeholders and the Education Bureau. (updated on 1 September 2017)
Separate F&E Subsidy outside the CFEG (Appendix 16 is relevant)
8. Separate F&E subsidy will continue to be provided to schools by the Education Bureau for
(a) School Administration and Management System, education television and information technology in education projects;
(b) replacing standard F&E items lost in natural disaster, burglary, theft, fire etc.;
and
(c) new initiatives. (However, expenditures on replacement of these F&E items have to be met by the CFEG.)
Appendix 16
Non-recurrent Grants (Furniture and Equipment)
Provision for furniture and equipment items not covered by the Composite Furniture and Equipment Grant (CFEG)
1. Separate non-recurrent subsidy will be provided for furniture and equipment (F&E) items costing $3,000 or above not covered by the CFEG for:
(a) School Administration and Management System;
(b) replacing standard F&E items lost in natural disaster, burglary, theft, fire etc.;
(c) reprovisioning or redevelopment of and extension to an existing school administered under the terms of this Code of Aid; and
(d) new initiatives.
2. Schools will be notified individually in writing by the responsible Section of the Education Bureau of the grant(s) that has/have been approved, the amount of provision and the due date for requesting the payment/reimbursement of the F&E subsidy. Schools should then proceed with the procurement exercise as soon as possible, following the procurement procedures in the prevailing circular(s)/
circular memorandum(s) in force and the Guidelines on Procurement Procedures in Aided Schools available on the Education Bureau homepage.
(updated on 1 September 2016)
Principles of Procurement (also applicable for procurement charged to the CFEG) 3. For single purchases exceeding $200,000, tenders from at least 5 suppliers
should be obtained.
4. For single purchases not exceeding $200,000, purchases may be arranged by obtaining 2 or more quotations (i.e. above $5,000 to $50,000, by at least 2 oral quotations and above $50,000 to $200,000, by at least 5 written quotations) with the lowest offer to specification being accepted. Where the total value of the purchase of any stores and services does not exceed $5,000, schools are not required to conduct any competitive bidding, subject to minor purchase of store and services being made to meet immediate needs and the school staff at the appropriate level being satisfied that such purchases are essential and his/her certifying that the prices are fair and reasonable and such records being properly kept by schools.
Tender Opening and Vetting Committee (TOVC)
5. The Principal should appoint a TOVC at least 3 working days before the tender opening date. The TOVC will be responsible for opening, vetting and referring tender documents to the appropriate subject teacher(s) and administrative staff for evaluation and recommendation before the tender documents are referred to the Tender Approving Committee for consideration.
6. A TOVC should comprise no less than 2 staff members, one with the salary point not lower than Master Pay Scale Point 25 and the other of a rank not lower than a Clerical Assistant or equivalent.
Approving Authority for Procurement of Stores and Services
7. Purchase of store and services not exceeding $5,000 and oral quotations above
$5,000 to $50,000 shall be approved by the Principal/Deputy Head. For schools without Deputy Head, the approving authority rests with the Principal.
8. Written quotations above $50,000 to $200,000 shall be approved by the Principal.
9. Tenders above $200,000 shall be approved by a Tender Approving Committee comprising the School Supervisor/Manager, the Principal, a teacher and a representative of the Parent-Teacher Association or a parent manager.
10. The School Management Committee should ensure that:
(a) the procurement procedures laid down by the Education Bureau are complied with;
(b) the designated purpose(s) of each grant is/are met;
(c) proper records of the quotations and tenders are available for inspection by the Education Bureau; and
(d) a separate section on the set-up fund for furniture and equipment should be included in new schools’ audited annual account with details by items and subjects.
Payment and Accounting Arrangements
11. The arrangements for payment/reimbursement of approved non-recurrent F&E subsidy to aided schools are set out in the respective approval letters to individual schools.
12. Schools should record the income and expenditure separately for the non-recurrent subsidy under F&E Account for individual projects in accordance with the approval letter. The F&E items purchased should be recorded in the Fixed Assets Register. Schools should observe the requirements laid down in the relevant Circular Memorandum on Annual Accounts of Aided Schools.
(updated on 1 September 2017)
Appendix 17
Non-recurrent Grants (Major Repairs and projects of $30 million and below)
Major Repairs Grants for items costing $3,000 or above I. For estate schools
1. Requests for subsidy towards the cost of items in respect of internal/external/structural repair works costing $3,000 or above must be submitted to the Education Bureau via the appropriate channel as detailed in the call circular issued annually to schools. The completed applications should reach the Education Bureau not later than the specified date.
2. In making their application of works, schools will have to specify the location and details of works to be done without giving the estimated costs and state the reasons why the work requests are needed.
3. Applications will be vetted by the term consultants appointed by the Education Bureau. The term consultants will conduct a technical vetting of schools’ application, i.e. categorizing the work type, providing recommendations on the estimated costs and providing comments as necessary on the technical aspects of the works proposed by the schools to the Architectural Services Department (for external/structural repairs works) and Education Bureau (for internal repairs works) for considerations.
4. Subject to the availability of funds, the Education Bureau will inform schools of the approved projects.
5. For schools with approval given, the term consultants appointed by the Education Bureau will liaise with individual schools to arrange for the works programme.
6 . Requests for subsidy in respect of major internal repairs which have not been included in the Estimates will not normally be considered unless they are of an emergency or unforeseen nature.
7. All repairs works will be carried out by maintenance term contractors supervised by the term consultants appointed by the Education Bureau.
8. For items involving works in a non-school portion, the school should state clearly when submitting the application. Normally, the team consultants will not be responsible for any works on non-school portion which is separately identifiable from the school portion. The term consultants will only undertake works in a non-school portion when it is inseparable from the
school portion at which approved repair works are to be carried out. Prior to commencement of works in the non-school portion, the school is required to agree in writing the scope of works and to pay the necessary costs with an on cost at prevailing rate charged for the works in the non-school portion.
Note:
All School Management Committees, as building tenants, should be responsible for the safety and soundness of their buildings. The term consultant appointed by the Education Bureau, acting in its role as works agent, would be responsible only for the sufficiency of the actual repair work projects undertaken by them.
(updated on 1 September 2016)
II. For non-estate schools
1. Requests for subsidy towards the cost of items in respect of internal/external/structural repair works costing $3,000 or above must be submitted to the Education Bureau via the appropriate channel as detailed in the call circular issued annually to schools. The completed applications should reach the Education Bureau not later than the specified date.
2. In making their application of works, schools will have to specify the scope of works to be done without giving the estimated costs and state the reasons why the work requests are needed.
3. Applications will be vetted by the term consultants appointed by the Education Bureau. The term consultants will conduct a technical vetting of schools’ application, i.e. categorizing the work type, providing recommendations on the estimated costs and providing comments as necessary on the technical aspects of the works proposed by the schools to the Education Bureau for considerations.
4. Subject to the availability of funds, the Education Bureau will inform schools of the approved projects.
5. For schools with approved projects costing $2 million or below, the term consultants appointed by the Education Bureau will approach individual schools direct to discuss the details and arrange for the works programme.
For approved projects of estimated cost exceeding $2 million each, the professional officers of the Architectural Services Department will then approach individual schools to arrange for the works programme.
6. Requests for subsidy in respect of works which have not been included in the Estimates will not normally be considered unless they are of an emergency or unforeseen nature.
7. For items involving works in a non-school portion, the school should state clearly when submitting the application. Normally, the term consultants / Architectural Services Department will not be responsible for any works in non-school portion which is separately identifiable from the school portion.
The team consultants / Architectural Services Department will only undertake works in a non-school portion when it is inseparable from the school portion at which approved repair works are to be carried out. Prior to commencement of works in the non-school portion, the school is required to agree in writing the scope of work and to pay the necessary costs with an on cost at prevailing rate charged for the works in the non-school portion.
(updated on 1 September 2016)
Deed of Covenant
8 . Where capital works exceeding $0.5 million is to be carried out in school buildings erected on private land, the trustees or legal representatives of the sponsor must execute under seal and register by Memorial in the Lands Department a Deed of Covenant which shall contain such provisions as the Permanent Secretary may require, and shall in particular provide the following:
(a) That the premises will be used solely for approved educational purposes or other purposes approved by the Permanent Secretary.
(b) That the school will be managed in accordance with the Education Ordinance and its subsidiary legislation and the Code of Aid for Special Schools.
(c) That if the sponsor should at any time desire to be released from the foregoing obligations, or if for any reason the school ceases to be accepted by the Permanent Secretary as an aided school, the sponsor may be required to repay the whole amount of grant to the Government or an equitable proportion of such grant as assessed by the Government.
(d) That in the event of any breach or non-performance of any of the terms, covenants and conditions contained in the Deed of Covenant, it shall be lawful for the Government to re-enter upon the lot and the school without the payment of any compensation whatsoever.
Appendix 18
Notes on Grant for Capital Cost for Building (for Projects exceeding $30million)
Procedures Concerning Application for the Non-recurrent Grant for Capital Cost for Building
1. Subject to funding and policy, the Permanent Secretary may approve non-recurrent grant towards the capital cost for the extension or redevelopment of existing school premises. (updated on 1 September 2016)
2. The application for the grant for capital cost for building by the School Management Committee (the Applicant) should give full justification for the proposal, including the proposed scope, the estimated cost, and the amount the Applicant will contribute. In addition the Applicant must state in its application whether it intends to carry out the project by private contract under government subvention. The Applicant should state whether a grant of site is required from the Government or whether the proposed project is to be built on land already available. For a proposed project on private land, the Applicant should check with the relevant District Lands Office that the lease conditions of the land will permit the proposed development. A statement regarding the land title, signed by the trustee or the legal representative of the grantee should be forwarded with the proposal to the Permanent Secretary for consideration. This statement should show the location, lot number of the areas to be used. All expenditure prior to notification in writing by the Permanent Secretary of the approval of the non-recurrent grant will be the sole liability of the Applicant. (updated on 1 September 2016)
3. Consideration and approval for non-recurrent grant is subject to the conditions set out by the Permanent Secretary. Funding consideration is subject to resource allocation and the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council. The proposed project should be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the prevailing subvention policy and conditions set out by the Permanent Secretary.
4. “Non-subvented” portion if required by the Applicant may be included in the project subject to approval of the Permanent Secretary even when the full cost required, including consultancy and construction, etc., for the non-subvented portion is borne by the Applicant. Such non-subvented portion and the related cost will not be eligible for recurrent or non-recurrent subsidy from the Government.
5. Subject to justification for the proposal, the Permanent Secretary will issue a project definition statement to the Works Agent for feasibility study and follow up action. The Permanent Secretary will issue the project definition statement direct to the Applicant opted to carry out the project under private contract. Under this self-delivery mode, the Applicant will be responsible for preparing a Technical Feasibility Statement for submission to the Education Bureau for comment and approval.
6. Upon written approval of the Technical Feasibility Statement and confirmation to proceed with the pre-tender works, the Applicant can obtain technical and fee proposals for architectural and associated consultancy services and quantity surveying consultancy services. Only registered consultants should be invited for tender and the invitation documents should be forwarded to the Permanent Secretary for comment.
7. The Applicant should submit recommendations for appointment of consultants to the Permanent Secretary for approval on the recommendations of the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD). The technical proposal and fee proposal are to be kept distinctly separated. Any opening of fee proposals prior to the Education Bureau/ArchSD examination of the technical marking will immediately invalidate the tender or disqualify the tender from subvention. The recommended technical and fee proposals should not be accepted until written approval is given by the Permanent Secretary. The Applicant should also submit tender documents for various pre-tender works like site investigation for approval before commissioning the contracts.
8. The Applicant should only proceed into the post-contract stage upon the written notification of the Finance Committee’s funding approval. Prior to issue of tender for construction work, the Applicant should forward a list of proposed tenderers together with the draft tender documents for the ArchSD’s comment and the Education Bureau’s approval.
9. For post-contract works, a minimum of 10 tenderers should be invited to tender.
The Applicant should require the tenderers to deposit their tenders into the Public Works Tender Board’s (PWTB) Tender Box. In this regard, the Applicant should give advance notice to the Secretary of the PWTB of the works and the tender closing date. The tender closing date and time must be set at noon on a Friday not being a public holiday. Upon receipt of tenders, the Applicant will be informed by PWTB for collection of tenders.