“One Executive Officer for Each School” Policy Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
Q1: Why are schools required to employ a School Executive Officer (School ExO) with a local bachelor’s degree (or equivalent)?
A1: Holders of the newly-created School ExO post are required to handle heavy administrative work that has a higher level of complexities. They are also responsible for reviewing school-based administrative arrangements and requirements, supporting the School Management Committee (SMC)/Incorporated Management Committee (IMC) in personnel and financial matters, and providing secretarial support for SMC/IMC. As such, the staff should possess good command of language and good analytical skills so that he/she can help schools enhance their school administrative capacities.
Q2: Does an applicant holding a recognised master's degree but without a local bachelor's degree (or equivalent) meet the entry requirements of the School ExO?
A2: According to the EDB Circular Memorandum No. 37/2019, applicants for School ExO should have a local bachelor’s degree (or equivalent).
Nevertheless, a recognised master’s degree plus a recognised post- secondary qualification awarded by a post-secondary college could be accepted as comparable to a local bachelor’s degree (or equivalent).
Q3: Are aided schools allowed to employ a person aged 60 or above to take up the post of School ExO?
A3: If the aided school chooses to create a regular School ExO post in the approved non-teaching staff establishment, the school should follow the Codes of Aid and the EDB Circular Memorandum No. 37/2019 in staff appointment exercise. According to the Codes of Aid, the retirement age of the School ExO is 60 and hence an aided school cannot employ a person aged 60 or above to take up the regular School ExO post. However, schools opting for receiving the School Executive Officer Grant (SEOG) to recruit School ExO are not bound by the restriction on retirement age as set out in the Codes of Aid.
Q4: Will the EDB provide training for School ExOs?
A4: The EDB will provide induction programmes for newly-appointed School ExOs in public sector schools. These programmes will cover school administration-related matters such as school finances and procurement, appointment of staff, assessment of staff salary, handling of school complaints, crisis management, maintenance of school premises and safety issues. Schools are encouraged to make proper arrangements to release their School ExOs for the above training. Details of the programmes and applications will be announced separately.
Q5: Are schools allowed to fill the newly-created School ExO post with serving administrative or clerical staff?
A5: School ExOs should be recruited by open recruitment. Persons fulfilling the basic entry requirements are eligible to apply for the post.
Q6: If the school has opted for SEOG*, would the school be allowed to procure school administration-related service from their school sponsoring bodies (SSBs)?
A6: Aided schools, caput schools and schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS schools) can procure school administration-related service from service provider(s) in light of school-based circumstances and students’
needs. Such service should include the provision of at least one full-time school-stationed School ExO with a local bachelor’s degree (or equivalent).
If any aided, caput or DSS school intends to procure school administration- related service from its SSB, the SSB is required to be regarded as one of the bidders and undergo same procedures of open bidding and selection as applicable to other service provider(s). The SMC/IMC should ensure that the SSB and other bidders are treated equally and fairly, and be alert to any declarable conflict of interest.
Procurement of school administration-related service from service provider(s) is not applicable to government schools as School
Administrative Executives in government schools are directly responsible for tasks related to government finance.
*As for DSS schools, the expenses arising from implementation of “One Executive Officer for Each School” policy in aided schools will be incorporated into the DSS unit subsidy rate.
Q7: What kinds of work experience will be taken into account during the calculation of salary increments for School ExOs within the approved non-teaching staff establishment of aided schools?
A7: As at 1 September 2019 or any date thereafter, if the employees have worked as:
- School ExO in aided schools and remunerated under the Salaries Grant or the SEOG; and/or
- School Administrative Executive in government schools under a non- civil service contract; and/or
- School ExO in caput schools and DSS schools; and/or
- School ExO hired by service providers to station in aided schools/caput schools/DSS schools,
the number of years served (full-time equivalent) will be taken into account during the calculation of increments, provided that documents of proof (including certificates of service issued by former employers with clear description of their rank, year(s) of service, source of funding, percentage of full-time duties/part-time to full-time job ratio, no-pay leave taken) are submitted when they switch to School ExO within the approved non- teaching staff establishment of aided schools.
Q8: Why are schools required to employ at least one full-time School ExO?
A8: As School ExOs are responsible for assisting in supervising and coordinating school administrative matters while assuming the role of reviewing school-based administrative arrangements and requirements, at least one full-time School ExO should be employed so that the school administrative capacities could be effectively enhanced and long-term school development could be promoted.
Q9: Are aided schools allowed to change their options, from receiving the SEOG to creating the regular School ExO post, or from creating the regular School ExO post to receiving the SEOG, in different school years?
A9: To maintain staff stability, schools that opt for creation of a regular School ExO post within the approved non-teaching staff establishment on or after 1 September 2019, under normal circumstances, will not be allowed to switch to receiving the SEOG in subsequent school years. However, schools may still apply for this switch in the next school year if exceptional circumstances arise (e.g. the regular School ExO appointed resigns/retires). Subject to schools’ provision of sufficient justifications, the EDB will exercise discretion to consider such applications.
Please note that, for schools switching from the SEOG to a regular School ExO post in a certain school year, if there is unspent balance of the grant, they may continue to deploy the balance up to 31 August of that school year.
After that date, the EDB will claw back any unspent balance in aided schools (including special schools). For example, schools that opt to turn this cash grant into a regular School ExO post in the 2020/21 school year may use the unspent balance up to 31 August 2021.
Q10: Could aided schools use the SEOG to employ teaching staff or cover expenditures on learning and teaching?
A10: “One Executive Officer for Each School” policy aims to provide additional resources for public sector schools and DSS schools to hire additional administrative manpower, enabling schools to review their school-based administrative arrangements and requirements, streamline administrative procedures, strengthen school administrative support and at the same time reduce the administrative work of teachers and principals, thereby, creating room for them to focus more on core educational tasks and to take care of student development. Hence, the SEOG can only be used for purposes specified in Appendix 2 of EDB Circular Memorandum No. 37/2019, and cannot be used for employment of teaching staff or payment for other expenditures (e.g. those related to learning and teaching).
Q11: If there is surplus after using the SEOG to employ a full-time School ExO, could aided schools use it to employ a part-time administrative staff?
A11: Schools must use the SEOG to employ at least one full-time school-stationed School ExO with a local bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) to perform duties of School ExO as proposed in Appendix 1 of EDB Circular Memorandum No. 37/2019. Any unspent balance of the SEOG may be used to procure school administration-related service or recruit additional administrative staff.
When schools have already employed a full-time School ExO, they may, in light of school-based circumstances, exercise discretion on the percentage of full-time duties to be taken up by additional administrative staff (if applicable).
Q12: What are the arrangements for leave entitlement and employment of supply staff for regular School ExOs within the approved non-teaching staff establishment of aided schools?
A12: Although regular School ExOs within the approved non-teaching staff establishment of aided schools are administrative staff of schools, the arrangements for their leave entitlement and employment of supply staff are similar to those applicable to specialists remunerated under the Salaries Grant in aided schools. Please refer to the relevant Codes of Aid for details.
Leave arrangement: SMCs/IMCs may grant various types of paid or no- pay leave to regular School ExOs remunerated under the Salaries Grant in accordance with the conditions and arrangements set out in the Codes of Aid, the Compendium to Code of Aid for Aided Schools, the Employment Ordinance and the instructions issued by the Permanent Secretary for Education from time to time. For details, please refer to EDB Circular No.
1/2006 and Section 7.5.3 of Chapter 7 and relevant appendix of the School Administration Guide. (The Codes of Aid, the Compendium to Code of Aid for Aided Schools and the School Administration Guide will be amended accordingly.) As prescribed by relevant regulations, the regular School ExOs, who do not enjoy school holidays, will be granted full pay
leave on annual basis. Such leave shall be taken during the major school holidays, subject to mutual agreement between the schools and the officers.
Regular School ExOs who are appointed on or after 1 September 2019 with less than 10 years of service will be granted 18 days of annual leave with pay, while those with 10 years of service or more will may be granted 22 days of annual leave with pay; and such leave cannot be accumulated.
Supply staff arrangement: SMCs/IMCs may approve the employment of temporary replacement on monthly terms in accordance with relevant Codes of Aid for regular School ExOs in the approved non-teaching staff establishment of aided schools who have been granted paid sick leave, paid leave for other purposes, paid maternity leave, paid study leave or no-pay leave for a period not less than 30 days. (The Codes of Aid will be amended accordingly.)
Q 13: Are regular School ExOs in the approved non-teaching staff establishment of aided schools eligible for higher rates of employer’s contribution to Provident Fund (PF)/Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Schemes in the same way as other non-teaching staff remunerated under the Salaries Grant?
A 13: Under the prevailing policies, unless specifically exempted, all non-teaching staff of aided schools are required to contribute to a registered MPF Scheme or a scheme registered under the Occupational Retirement Schemes Ordinance. As regular School ExOs are staff within the approved non- teaching staff establishment and remunerated under the Salaries Grant, they are eligible for employer’s contributions to PF/MPF Schemes at rates higher than those stipulated under prevailing MPF regulations, provided that they have satisfied relevant conditions and mutual agreement between the employer and the employee has been reached, i.e. eligible for 10%
employer’s contribution upon completion of 10 years of continuous contributory service; and eligible for 15% employer’s contribution upon completion of 15 years of continuous contributory service.
Q 14: If aided schools use the SEOG to employ School ExOs, are the relevant staff eligible for higher rates of employer’s contribution to PF/MPF Schemes in the same way as other non-teaching staff remunerated under the Salaries Grant?
A 14: All along, non-teaching staff on the approved establishment that are remunerated under the Salaries Grant and the Administration Grant/ Revised Administration Grant are eligible for higher rates of employer’s contribution to PF/MPF Schemes, provided that they have satisfied relevant conditions and mutual agreement between the employer and the employee has been reached. Appendix 2 of the EDB Circular Memorandum No. 37/2019 has stipulated that if a school opts for receiving SEOG, all costs incurred by employment, including salaries, leave entitlement and statutory benefits, such as MPF, should be covered by the grant. No additional funding will be provided to cover the employer’s contribution to PF/MPF Schemes of these School ExOs remunerated under the SEOG, the same as those teachers and non-teaching staff remunerated under other cash grants. Therefore, the school, as an employer, should maintain good communication with its employees on employment matters and make relevant arrangements.
Besides, if a School ExO remunerated under the SEOG is to commence employment in an aided school as a regular non-teaching staff (including regular School ExO within the approved non-teaching staff establishment), the relevant years of PF/MPF contributory service should be counted afresh.
In other words, any years of PF/MPF contributory service completed prior to such employment as regular non-teaching staff could not be taken into account for calculating the PF/MPF benefits.
Q 15: If a DSS school has been hiring a full-time school-stationed School ExO with a local bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) prior to 1 September 2019, is the school required to employ an additional full-time school-stationed School ExO to satisfy the requirement of the “One Executive Officer for Each School” policy?
A 15: The EDB will incorporate the expenses arising from implementation of
“One Executive Officer for Each School” policy in aided schools into the DSS unit subsidy rate. As such, DSS schools shall also appoint at least one full-time School ExO with a local bachelor’s degree (or equivalent), or procure from service provider(s) school administration-related service which should include the provision of at least one full-time school-stationed School ExO with a local bachelor’s degree (or equivalent). These schools should refer to Appendix 1 of the EDB Circular Memorandum No. 37/2019 for the entry requirements, proposed scope of responsibilities, remunerations
and other appointment details of School ExOs and enhance their school administrative capacities as appropriate.
Nevertheless, if a DSS school has been hiring a full-time school-stationed
School ExO with a local bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) prior to 1 September 2019 to perform the duties as listed in Appendix 1 of the EDB
Circular Memorandum No. 37/2019, the DSS school does not need to additionally hire another School ExO.
