EDUCATION BUREAU
CIRCULAR MEMORANDUM No. 26/2022
From:
Ref.:
Date:
Permanent Secretary for Education
EDB(SA1)/4-65/3C(6)
18 January 2022
To:
c.c.
Supervisors/Heads of government schools, aided schools (including special schools), caput schools, Direct Subsidy Scheme schools and private schools offering formal curriculum
Heads of sections – for information
One-off Relief Grant under the Fifth Round of Anti-epidemic Fund School Instructors of Learning / Interest Classes
Summary
This circular memorandum informs schools of the arrangements for instructors, coaches, trainers and operators1 of interest classes engaged by schools (hereafter collectively referred to as “school instructors of learning / interest classes”) to apply for a one-off relief grant provided under the fifth round of Anti- epidemic Fund (AEF). The Education Bureau (EDB) calls on schools to help notify the instructors concerned of the grant details, to collect and certify their applications, and to submit their applications to the EDB according to the procedures specified below on or before 25 February 2022.
Details
2. On 14 January 2022, the Government announced a series of additional relief measures through the fifth round of AEF, targeting sectors affected by the anti-epidemic measures. With the restrictions on face-to-face classes and on-campus school activities since the commencement of the 2021/22 school year, particularly the suspension of face-to-face classes at kindergarten (KG) and primary school levels starting from mid-January 2022, school instructors of
1 Application for this relief grant is to be made in the name of an individual; and an interest class operator should also be a school instructor, coach or trainer certified by school to be eligible for the relief grant.
2
learning / interest classes had to scale down or even come to a stop on their provision of services for schools, resulting in a loss of their income. To alleviate these instructors’ financial hardship, the EDB would provide a one-off relief grant of $5,000 for each eligible school instructor of learning / interest classes.
Eligibility
3. All school instructors of learning / interest classes offering instructions / training to students or developing students’ interests and potentials in arts, sports and other areas2 are eligible to apply for the aforesaid relief grant provided that they have not applied for any other schemes under the fifth round of AEF.
Application Form
4. Electronic version of the notes of application and application form (Annex 1) can be downloaded from the EDB Homepage:
https://www.edb.gov.hk > Home > School Administration and Management >
Administration > About School > Prevention of Communicable Diseases in Schools > Application for Subsidy under the Fifth Round of Anti-epidemic Fund (AEF) > One-off Relief Grant for School Instructors of Learning / Interest Classes.
Submission of Application Form
5. School instructors of learning / interest classes wishing to apply for the aforesaid relief grant should submit the completed application forms to the schools that they are serving3 by post or in person by 18 February 2022. Schools are requested to offer assistance by collecting instructors’ application forms and
2 The applicant must be an instructor engaged by a school for learning / interest class(es) of an ongoing nature that is/are originally scheduled for during the period of restrictions on face-to-face classes and on-campus school activities since the commencement of the 2021/22 school year, particularly the suspension of face-to-face classes at KG and primary school levels starting from mid-January 2022, including tutors of learning classes under the School-based After-school Learning and Support Programmes (Programme), and an active service provider in the sector at the time of application.
(Instructors whose service is hired through the School-based Grant of the Programme should submit their applications direct to the schools concerned, while instructors employed by non-profit-making non-governmental organisations under the Community-based Project of the Programme should submit their applications through the organisations and are subject to the relevant eligibility criteria.)
3 Each school instructor of learning / interest classes can submit only one application (even if they are providing services for more than one school).
3
completing the Instructor Information Sheet (Annex 2) (in MS Excel format) provided by the EDB via the Communication and Delivery System (CDS); and submit (i) all the certified original application forms collected, together with a printed copy of the completed Instructor Information Sheet bearing the principal’s signature and school chop, to the Home-school Cooperation Section of EDB (Address: Room W215, 2/F, West Block, Education Bureau Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre, 19 Suffolk Road, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon) by 25 February 2022; and (ii) the soft copy4 of the completed Instructor Information Sheet (in MS Excel format) to the EDB via the CDS on the same day.
6 . Schools should note that each school instructor of learning / interest classes can submit only one application form even if they are taking up more than one interest class. Schools therefore must not submit more than one application form for the same instructor or enter the data of an instructor into the Information Sheet more than once. For schools operating at different school locations under the same school registration number, a completed Information Sheet together with relevant application forms should be submitted for each school location separately.
Schools under the same school registration number may arrange for joint submission.
Disbursement of Relief Grant
7 . Each eligible school instructor of learning / interest class(es) can only apply for this one-off relief grant once. Upon receipt of the duly completed and certified application forms from schools and verification of relevant information, the EDB will effect payment as soon as possible. Crossed cheques will be sent by post to the addresses provided by the schools concerned in Annex 2 for distribution to the instructors of their learning / interest classes. Based on the local mobile phone numbers provided by the school instructors of learning / interest classes in the application forms, the EDB will send SMS to timely inform successful applicants to collect and acknowledge receipt of the cheques from schools through which their application forms were submitted. Schools should remind their instructors to deposit as soon as possible the cheques into the payees’ accounts after collection. They are required to properly maintain a
4 For the purpose of data checking and verification.
4
record of instructors’ acknowledgement of receipt and return the Reply Slip on Distribution of Cheques to Instructors (Annex 3) to the Home-school Cooperation Section of EDB by post or by fax within two weeks upon distribution of all cheques.
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
8 . For further details regarding the relief grant, please refer to the
“Frequently Asked Questions and Answers on One-off Relief Grant under the Fifth Round of Anti-epidemic Fund - School Instructors of Learning / Interest Classes”.
The path is as follows: EDB Homepage https://www.edb.gov.hk > Home > School Administration and Management > Administration > About School > Prevention of Communicable Diseases in Schools > Application for Subsidy under the Fifth Round of Anti-epidemic Fund (AEF)> One-off Relief Grant for School Instructors of Learning / Interest Classes.
Enquiries
9 . For enquiries, please contact the respective Senior School Development Officer or call the enquiry hotline on 3698 3674. For issues concerning the CDS, please contact the CDS Helpdesk on 3464 0550.
Dr Verena LAU
for Permanent Secretary for Education
