EDB116: The Administration omitted in the written reply the information in respect of the Liberal Studies Curriculum Support Grant

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Replies to supplementary questions raised by Finance Committee Members in examining the Estimates of Expenditure 2018-19

Director of Bureau: Secretary for Education Session No. : 18

File name: EDB-2S-e1.docx

Reply Serial No.

Question

Serial No. Name of Member Head Programme SV-EDB01 SV038 CHAN Tanya 156 Primary Education

Secondary Education Special Education SV-EDB02 SV040 CHENG Chung-tai 156

SV-EDB03 SV039 TIEN Puk-sun, Michael 156 S-EDB04 S0149 AU Nok-hin 156

S-EDB05 S0120 HUI Chi-fung 156 Primary Education Secondary Education S-EDB06 S0121 HUI Chi-fung 156 Other Educational Services

and Subsidies

S-EDB07 S0113 IP Kin-yuen 156 Pre-primary Education S-EDB08 S0114 IP Kin-yuen 156 Pre-primary Education S-EDB09 S0115 IP Kin-yuen 156 Pre-primary Education S-EDB10 S0116 IP Kin-yuen 156 Pre-primary Education S-EDB11 S0117 IP Kin-yuen 156 Pre-primary Education S-EDB12 S0118 IP Kin-yuen 156 Pre-primary Education S-EDB13 S0119 IP Kin-yuen 156 Pre-primary Education S-EDB14 S0123 IP Kin-yuen 156 Post-secondary, Vocational

and Professional Education S-EDB15 S0125 IP Kin-yuen 156 Primary Education

Secondary Education Special Education S-EDB16 S0126 IP Kin-yuen 156

S-EDB17 S0144 IP Kin-yuen 156

S-EDB18 S0107 MOK Charles Peter 156 Policy and Support S-EDB19 S0160 SHIU Ka-chun 156 Primary Education S-EDB20 S0161 SHIU Ka-chun 156 Pre-primary Education S-EDB21 S0162 SHIU Ka-chun 156 Primary Education

Secondary Education Other Educational Services and Subsidies

WFSFAA

S-EDB22 S0157 POON Siu-ping 173 Student Assistance Scheme

UGC

S-EDB23 S0108 AU Nok-hin 190 University Grants Committee

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Reply Serial No.

Question

Serial No. Name of Member Head Programme

S-EDB24 S0109 AU Nok-hin 190 University Grants Committee S-EDB25 S0124 IP Kin-yuen 190 University Grants Committee

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Session 18 EDB - page 1 Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2018-19

CONTROLLING OFFICER’S REPLY

(Question Serial No. SV038)

Head: (156) Government Secretariat: Education Bureau Subhead (No. & title): (-) Not specified

Programme: (3) Primary Education, (4) Secondary Education, (5) Special Education

Controlling Officer: Permanent Secretary for Education (Mrs Ingrid YEUNG) Director of Bureau: Secretary for Education

Question:

Regarding Reply Serial No. EDB116:

The Administration omitted in the written reply the information in respect of the Liberal Studies Curriculum Support Grant. Please provide supplementary information.

Asked by: Hon CHAN Tanya Reply:

The Liberal Studies Curriculum Support Grant (LSCSG) was disbursed in the school years from 2010/11 to 2012/13. Its purpose was to enable schools to, at the initial stage of implementing the new academic structure, lay a sound foundation for the introduction of Liberal Studies. In Reply Serial No. EDB116, the Education Bureau provided relevant information on cancellation of the provision of recurrent grants to public sector schools in the school years from 2011/12 to 2017/18. The LSCSG was not included in the reply as it was a non-recurrent grant that automatically expired at the end of its tenure and there is no question of cancelling the provision of the grant.

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Reply Serial No.

SV-EDB01

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Programme: (-) Not specified

Question:

With reference to Reply Serial No. EDB015 and EDB250, please provide the following information:

(a) Statistics on awardees of the Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme who have returned to Hong Kong for work upon graduation, as well as their situations;

(b) Statistics on recipients of government scholarships for pursuing university studies in Hong Kong who have stayed and worked in Hong Kong upon graduation, as well as their situations;

(c) According to the table of “Additional requirements for publicly-funded hostel places above the level of supply at the time”, there was an upsurge in the demand for hostel places in the City University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the 2018/19 academic year. What are the reasons for that? and

(d) The overall success rate of hostel applications by local students in the past 3 years.

Asked by: Hon CHENG Chung-tai Reply:

(a) The Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme (HKSES) has awarded scholarships to a total of 282 students admitted to world-renowned universities for the first 3 cohorts (i.e. from 2015/16 to 2017/18 academic years). Awardees are required to complete the specific study programme and undertake to return to Hong Kong upon graduation to work for at least 2 years or a period equivalent to the duration of receiving the scholarship, whichever is the longer, to facilitate the long-term development of Hong Kong. Of the awardees from the first 3 cohorts, 47 have graduated. We have been approaching the awardees who have graduated to receive an update on their employment status.

37 awardees have returned to Hong Kong and are making contribution through work Reply Serial No.

SV-EDB02

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Session 18 EDB - page 3 engagement in various industries and areas (including engineering, legal service, culture, science and technology, education, urban planning, medical care and corporate management).

For the rest of the awardees, some have applied to the Steering Committee of the HKSES to further their studies and will return to Hong Kong to work later.

(b) The HKSAR Government Scholarship Fund offers scholarships to non-local students so as to attract outstanding non-local students to pursue publicly-funded higher education programmes in Hong Kong. Awardees are not required to undertake to stay and work in Hong Kong upon graduation under these existing scholarship schemes. Hence, statistics in this respect are not available.

(c) The calculation of “additional requirements for publicly-funded hostel places above the level of supply at that time” for the 2017/18 academic year is based on the actual intake of students by the University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities in the corresponding academic year. When projecting the requirements for publicly-funded hostel places for the 2018/19 academic year, we assume that all universities will use up the 20 % quota for over-enrolment to admit non-local students to UGC-funded undergraduate programmes and taught postgraduate programmes.

In the 2017/18 academic year, the percentage of non-local students admitted to UGC-funded undergraduate programmes and taught postgraduate programmes by way of over-enrolment of the City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is about 11%, while the percentage ranges from 13% to 19% for the other 4 universities with shortfall of hostel places. Hence, for both CityU and PolyU, the estimated requirements for hostel places for the 2018/19 academic year differ rather notably from the actual requirements for hostel places for the 2017/18 academic year.

(d) The respective overall success rate of application for hostel places among local students in the past 3 academic years (from 2015/16 to 2017/18 academic years) is as follows:

2015/16 academic year 2016/17 academic year 2017/18 academic year

59% 61% 65%

Note:

1. Including all hostel places available for allocation (i.e. publicly-funded and privately-funded hostel places as well as temporary places).

2. Including re-applications from students who had resided in hostels in the past.

3. Including applications from local students enrolled in UGC-funded and non-UGC-funded programmes.

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Question:

Please provide the following information:

(a) the details and results of the discussion between the Administration and the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research about how to increase students’

interest in language;

(b) among the primary schools participating in the Basic Competency Assessments, the percentage of schools that are provided with reports on each item’s correct response rate of an individual school and of all participating schools.

Asked by: Hon TIEN Puk-sun, Michael Reply:

(a) The Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) organises and supports, on an on-going basis, a vast array of programmes and activities which are creative and interesting, with a view to creating a conducive language learning environment for enhancing and promoting biliteracy and trilingualism among students of kindergartens, primary and secondary schools. These efforts include the promotion of the English language (through the English Alliance), promotion of the Chinese language (including the District-based Project on Supporting Non-Chinese Speaking Children in Learning Chinese and promotion of Putonghua) and Sponsorship Projects (engaging community partners in organising language-related events or competition-based projects in the community). SCOLAR also joins with the Education Bureau (EDB) to organise the annual World Book Day Fest. Through a range of activities, which are suitable for students of different age groups, and experience-sharing sessions organised by schools, parents, government departments and non-governmental organisations, the event promotes reading culture in schools and develops students’ habit of and interest in reading. SCOLAR will carry on with relevant programmes and activities to enhance students’ interest in language learning.

Reply Serial No.

SV-EDB03

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Session 18 EDB - page 5 (b) A number of enhancement measures were introduced under the 2017 Basic

Competency Assessment Research Study (2017 Research Study), including enhancing school reports. The education sector generally agreed that the enhanced school reports provided more information to inform learning and teaching, so that schools could make use of the information to review the design of school-based assessments, facilitate curriculum planning, adjust teaching strategies and render learning support. In particular, analysis of wrong answers in the information analysis report helped teachers identify students’ strengths and weaknesses. The report also eased teachers’ workload in data analysis. For details on the types of reports that schools participating in the 2017 Research Study opted for, please refer to Chapter 4 of the Report on Review of the Primary 3 Territory-wide System Assessment 2015-2017 (http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum-development/assessment/about-asse ssment/2015-17-tsa-report-en.pdf). Territory-wide System Assessment for Primary 3 in 2018 and beyond will be conducted on a sampling basis for the EDB to obtain only territory-wide data, and no school reports will be provided. Regarding schools which approach the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) to make arrangements for all Primary 3 students to participate in the assessment, the EDB will neither obtain individual school reports from the HKEAA nor request information about the participation of and the types of school reports opted by individual schools.

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(Question Serial No. S0149)

Head: (156) Government Secretariat: Education Bureau Subhead (No. & title): (700) General non-recurrent

Question:

Regarding Item 917 One-off grant for the promotion of Chinese history and culture under this subhead, would the Government inform this Committee of the following:

1) the reasons for revising the estimated expenditure for 2017-18 from $124,998,000 to

$116,583,000;

2) the estimated expenditure and details of items for 2018-19, given the balance of over

$8.4 million under the item in the 2018-19 Estimates.

Item Estimated expenditure ($)

Asked by: Hon AU Nok-hin Reply:

1) To promote Chinese history and culture, the Education Bureau (EDB) has provided a one-off grant to each of the public sector and Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) primary and secondary schools (including special schools) at an amount of $100,000 and $150,000 respectively. The approved estimate for 2017-18 is about $125 million, which could support teachers in improving teaching and developing school-based activities pertinent to Chinese history and culture education. The one-off grant was disbursed to all aided primary and secondary schools (including special schools), caput secondary schools, and DSS primary and secondary schools in August 2017. Schools may use the grant in accordance with school context until the end of the 2019/20 school year. As for government schools, the funding mode is different. These schools receive the grant in the form of budget allocation, i.e. an amount of grant to be used by government schools per year is estimated for budgetary purposes. Throughout the funding period of the grant, the unspent balance of a particular year can be carried forward to the subsequent financial year.

Having regard to the use of the grant by government schools and the actual number of Reply Serial No.

S-EDB04

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Session 18 EDB - page 7 public sector and DSS primary and secondary schools (including special schools) in operation in the 2017/18 school year, the EDB has revised the estimated expenditure for 2017-18 to $116,583,000.

2) The estimated expenditure for the one-off grant for the promotion of Chinese history and culture for 2018-19 is $4,125,000 and details are as follows:

Item Estimated expenditure ($)

Estimated expenditure on government primary schools

1,700,000 Estimated expenditure on government

secondary schools

2,325,000 Aided primary school expected to start

operation in the 2018/19 school year

100,000

Total amount 4,125,000

We estimate that the balance of the one-off grant for the promotion of Chinese history and culture at the end of 2018-19 will be around $4,292,000, which will be reserved for the new schools that start operation in the 2019/20 school year and for the government schools with unspent balance for use before the end of the 2019/20 school year.

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Programme: (3) Primary Education, (4) Secondary Education

Question:

Referring to Government’s response EDB061, the number and percentage of NCS students who were offered a Primary 1 place at the “Discretionary Places Admission” stage among the total number of NCS students participating in POA are 763 and 60.1% respectively for the 2016/17 school year and 818 and 59.7% respectively for the 2017/18 school year.

The number of NCS students who were allocated a Primary 1 place at the “Central Allocation” stage among the total number of NCS students participating in POA are 507 for the 2016/17 school year and 552 for the 2017/18 school year.

Will the Government please inform this council:

(a) The percentage of NCS students at the “Discretionary Places Admission” who were offered a Primary 1 place in the schools listed in Appendix 3 of the POA for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 school year.

(b) The percentage of NCS students at the “Central Allocation” stage who were offered a Primary 1 place in the schools listed in Appendix 3 of the POA for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 school year.

(c) The percentage of NCS students at the “Central Allocation” stage who selected the schools listed in Appendix 3 of the POA for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 school year as one of their first three choices.

Asked by: Hon HUI Chi-fung Reply:

(a) In the 2016/17 and 2017/18 school years (i.e. under Primary One Admission (POA) 2016 and POA 2017), the percentage of non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students who

Reply Serial No.

S-EDB05

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Session 18 EDB - page 9 were admitted through the “Discretionary Places Admission” stage to the 8 schools traditionally admitting more NCS students is 29.5% and 24.4% respectively.

(b) In the 2016/17 and 2017/18 school years (i.e. under POA 2016 and POA 2017), the percentage of NCS students who were allocated a Primary 1 place at the “Central Allocation” stage to the 8 schools traditionally admitting more NCS students is 28.0%

and 19.0% respectively.

(c) The statistics in respect of the choice of individual schools at the “Central Allocation”

stage is not available.

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Programme: (6) Other Educational Services and Subsidies

Question:

Supplementary question to Reply Serial No. EDB056:

Please advise this Committee of the following:

1. the learning and teaching resources for Basic Law education mentioned in the reply, and the list of parties and bureaux consulted; and

2. the breakdown of expenditure on developing the learning and teaching resources for Basic Law education, including but not limited to the expenditure on teaching resources and activities, under the Education Bureau in the past 3 years.

Asked by: Hon HUI Chi-fung Reply:

The consolidated reply to the questions raised is as follows:

The Education Bureau (EDB) has attached great importance to promoting Basic Law education (BLE). A wide array of measures have been adopted continuously to strengthen the implementation of BLE. Such measures include the development of learning and teaching (L&T) resources. The L&T resources for BLE developed in the past 3 years (2015-16 to 2017-18) are listed below:

Reply Serial No.

S-EDB06

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Session 18 EDB - page 11 Name of L&T Resources Expenditure^

($ million) Understanding the Law, Access to Justice - Basic Law Learning

Package (Junior Secondary)

1.65 Basic Law Audio-visual L&T Package (活學趣論 ‧基本說法 ) 1.24 Let’s Learn the Basic Law: Effective use of the Learning Package 0.11 Development of L&T Strategies and Resources to facilitate Students’

Deep Learning of the Basic Law through Community Study (Secondary)

0.71⁺ Basic Law Knowledge Enrichment Online Course for Secondary School

Teachers and supplementary video clips

0.97⁺ Basic Law Online Course for Secondary School Students’ Self-directed

Learning and supplementary video clips

0.84⁺ L&T Resource CD for Primary General Studies (History and Culture

Series)

0.11⁺ Basic Law Audio-visual L&T Package (Senior Primary) 1.15⁺

Updating/revising of L&T resources 0.13

^ The expenditure on the L&T resources above is covered in different financial years (2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18).

+ Estimated expenditure

The expenditure on BLE-related curriculum development work and support measures, which include research and development, provision of learning activities for students, professional programmes for school heads and teachers, staff establishment etc., is subsumed under the recurrent expenditure of the EDB as an integral part of its day-to-day curriculum development work. Other than the above expenditure on L&T resources, there is no separate breakdown for individual items.

The L&T resources for BLE are developed by the staff and seconded teachers of the EDB.

During the process, the Department of Justice and the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau have been consulted as appropriate, and the views of various stakeholders, including school heads, teachers and experts in the constitutions and the Basic Law, have been sought.

They give feedback through different channels, such as focus groups, meetings, interviews and seminars with frontline teachers. As the EDB has neither kept a full list of participants nor sought consent from most of those consulted to reveal their identity, the relevant information cannot be provided.

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Programme: (2) Pre-primary Education

Question:

With reference to Reply Serial No. EDB050, please provide the following information relating to the Non-profit-making Kindergarten Rent Reimbursement Scheme for the school years from 2013/14 to 2017/18:

(a) the number of applications for the Non-profit-making Kindergarten Rent Reimbursement Scheme every year, and the number of applications approved and the respective percentage share among local kindergartens (KGs) and KGs subsidised by the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme/Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme;

(b) the respective number of KGs that have received full and 50% reimbursement of rent under the Non-profit-making Kindergarten Rent Reimbursement Scheme, and the respective total amount of subsidy;

(c) the highest, lowest, median and average rent subsidy received by KGs under the Non-profit-making Kindergarten Rent Reimbursement Scheme, and the highest, lowest, average and median rent subsidy received by the KGs granted with 50% reimbursement of rent;

(d) the estimated expenditure of the Non-profit-making Kindergarten Rent Reimbursement Scheme in the 2018 school year, given the implementation of the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme; and

(e) the number of KGs, among those receiving rent subsidy under the Non-profit-making Kindergarten Rent Reimbursement Scheme in the 2017/18 school year, that have charged school fees, and the highest, lowest and median amounts of the school fees collected. Please provide a breakdown by half-day, whole-day, mixed (half-day and whole-day) and long whole-day KGs.

Asked by: Hon IP Kin-yuen

Reply Serial No.

S-EDB07

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Session 18 EDB - page 13 Reply:

Parts (a), (b) and (c) are the same as parts of another question for 2018-19 asked by Hon IP Kin-yuen, and replied at Reply Serial No. EDB448. We have no further supplementary information.

(d) The estimated expenditure on rental subsidy for non-profit-making kindergartens (KGs) in 2018-19 is $369 million.

(e) Some KGs operate both HD and WD classes. This is mainly to flexibly cater for parents’ needs. When assessing whether KGs need to collect school fees, we are concerned about whether HD classes are free, and whether the fees collected for WD classes are at a low level. Whether a KG operates both HD and WD classes is not our primary concern. Hence, there is no separate analysis on the collection of school fees by this type of KGs. In the 2017/18 school year, 554 KGs receive rental subsidy under the new kindergarten education scheme (KG Scheme) or subsidy under the Rent Reimbursement Scheme for Non-profit-making Kindergartens (RRS). Among KGs receiving rental subsidy or subsidy under RRS, the number of schools that charge school fees, and the lowest, highest and median annual school fees charged by these KGs are tabulated by HD, WD and long WD services as follows:

Annual school fee

Number of KGs charging school fees

Lowest school fee

($)

Highest school fee

($)

Median school fee

($)

HD services 28 100 9,500 2,900

WD services 262 200 25,900 7,000

Long WD services 116 900 19,200 11,400

Note: Prior to the implementation of the KG Scheme in the 2017/18 school year, eligible KGs received rent reimbursement under RRS. With the launch of the KG Scheme from the 2017/18 school year, new applications for such rent reimbursement will not be accepted. For KGs joining the KG Scheme and operating in rented premises, they may receive rental subsidy to lessen their rental-related financial burden.

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Question:

Regarding Reply Serial No. EDB079, please provide the following information for the school years from 2013/14 to 2017/18 in table format:

(a) the number of in-service qualified kindergarten teachers, the number of principals and teachers among them, and the respective number of teachers in whole-day kindergartens, half-day kindergartens and kindergartens with both half-day and whole-day classes;

(b) the respective number of teachers in kindergartens receiving subsidy under the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS)/Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme (KG scheme) and not receiving subsidy under the PEVS/KG Scheme;

(c) the number and percentage of kindergarten teachers holding a Certificate in Early Childhood Education (ECE), and the number and percentage of kindergarten teachers pursuing a certificate programme in ECE;

(d) the number and percentage of kindergarten principals holding a Bachelor’s Degree in ECE, and the number and percentage of principals pursuing a bachelor’s degree programme in ECE (please provide the total figure as well as a breakdown by kindergarten under PEVS, kindergarten not under PEVS, kindergarten under the KG Scheme and kindergarten not under the KG Scheme;

(e) the number of teachers holding a Certificate in ECE, Bachelor’s Degree in ECE or a Master’s Degree in ECE in each year, together with annual increase rates; and

(f) the wastage of whole-day and half-day kindergarten teachers in terms of number and percentage, the age distribution and length of service of these teachers, and the number of those holding a Certificate/Diploma, Bachelor’s Degree or Master’s Degree in ECE with percentage out of total wastage.

Reply Serial No.

S-EDB08

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Session 18 EDB - page 15 Asked by: Hon IP Kin-yuen

Reply:

(a) From the 2013/14 to 2017/18 school years, the number of qualified kindergarten (KG) teachers serving in local KGs, and the number of principals and teachers among them are tabulated below:

School year

Number of principals

(a)

Number of qualified KG teachers

(b)

Total number of qualified KG

teachers (a)+(b)

2013/14 872 10 179 11 051

2014/15 868 10 727 11 595

2015/16 873 11 095 11 968

2016/17 881 11 445 12 326

2017/18 871 11 672 12 543

From the 2013/14 to 2017/18 school years, the respective number of qualified KG teachers serving in local whole-day (WD) KGs, half-day (HD) KGs and KGs with both HD and WD classes is tabulated below:

School year

Number of qualified KG teachers KGs operating

WD classes only

KGs operating HD classes only

KGs operating both HD and WD classes

2013/14 2 165 3 031 5 855

2014/15 2 290 3 319 5 986

2015/16 2 396 3 598 5 974

2016/17 2 506 3 743 6 077

2017/18 2 761 3 778 6 004

(b) The respective number of qualified teachers serving in local KGs that are and are not under the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS) from the 2013/14 to 2016/17 school years/are and are not under the new KG education scheme (KG Scheme) in the 2017/18 school year is tabulated below:

School Year Number of qualified KG teachers

KGs under PEVS/KG Scheme KGs not under PEVS/KG Scheme

2013/14 9 105 1 946

2014/15 9 546 2 049

2015/16 9 970 1 998

2016/17 10 417 1 909

2017/18 10 674 1 869

(c) From the 2013/14 to 2017/18 school years, the respective number and percentage of KG teachers serving in local KGs and holding a Certificate in Early Childhood Education (ECE) are tabulated below:

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Session 18 EDB - page 16 School Year Number of KG teachers (%) serving in local KGs

and holding a Certificate in ECE

2013/14 10 171 (87.6%)

2014/15 10 923 (90.4%)

2015/16 11 377 (91.2%)

2016/17 11 819 (92.7%)

2017/18 12 109 (93.9%)

From the 2013/14 to 2017/18 school years, the respective number and percentage of KG teachers serving in local KGs and pursuing a certificate programme in ECE are tabulated below:

School Year Number of in-service KG teachers (%) pursuing a certificate programme in ECE

2013/14 1 072 (9.2%)

2014/15 988 (8.2%)

2015/16 643 (5.2%)

2016/17 583 (4.6%)

2017/18 498 (3.9%)

(d) The respective number and percentage of KG principals holding a Bachelor’s Degree in ECE/pursuing a bachelor’s degree programme and serving in local KGs that are and are not under PEVS from the 2013/14 to 2016/17 school years/are and are not under the KG Scheme in the 2017/18 school year are tabulated below:

School Year

Number of in-service KG principals (%)

holding a Bachelor’s Degree in ECE

Number of in-service KG principals (%) pursuing a bachelor’s degree programme

in ECE Grand

Total (%) KGs under

PEVS/

KG Scheme

KGs not under

PEVS/

KG Scheme

Total

KGs under PEVS/

KG Scheme

KGs not under

PEVS/

KG Scheme

Total

2013/14 592 (81.1%)

92 (61.3%)

684 (77.7%)

14 (1.9%)

6 (4.0%)

20 (2.3%)

704 (80.0%) 2014/15 611

(84.2%)

88 (60.3%)

699 (80.2%)

7 (1.0%)

9 (6.2%)

16 (1.8%)

715 (82.0%) 2015/16 628

(85.3%)

90 (65.2%)

718 (82.2%)

7 (1.0%)

1 (0.7%)

8 (0.9%)

726 (83.1%) 2016/17 642

(85.9%)

86 (64.2%)

728 (82.6%)

4 (0.5%)

1 (0.7%)

5 (0.6%)

733 (83.2%) 2017/18 648

(87.3%)

89 (69.0%)

737 (84.6%)

2 (0.3%)

1 (0.8%)

3 (0.3%)

740 (85.0%)

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Session 18 EDB - page 17 (e) From the 2013/14 to 2017/18 school years, the respective number and annual increase

rate of KG teachers serving in local KGs and holding a Certificate in ECE or a Bachelor’s Degree in ECE are tabulated below. Information in respect of Master’s Degree in ECE has not been collected.

School Year

Number of in-service KG teachers (annual increase rate* in the specified period)

Holding a Certificate in ECE Holding a Bachelor’s Degree in ECE

2013/14 6 311 (1.6%) 3 860 (21.2%)

2014/15 6 543 (3.7%) 4 380 (13.5%)

2015/16 6 430 (-1.7%) 4 947 (12.9%)

2016/17 6 339 (-1.4%) 5 480 (10.8%)

2017/18 5 989 (-2.7%) 6 120 (14.2%)

* The annual increase rate refers to the increase in the number of KG teachers holding a Certificate in ECE or a Bachelor’s Degree in ECE or equivalent as compared with the number of such teachers in the previous school year.

(f) From the 2013/14 to 2017/18 school years, the respective number and percentage of wastage^# among teachers in local WD KGs, HD KGs and KGs with both HD and WD classes; the age distribution and average length of service in years of these teachers; as well as the number and percentage of those holding a Certificate in ECE and a Bachelor’s Degree in ECE are tabulated below. Information in respect of Master’s Degree in ECE has not been collected.

(i) Number and percentage of wastage among teachers in local WD KGs, HD KGs and KGs with both HD and WD classes

School year

Number of wastage (%) in local KGs KGs operating

WD classes only

KGs operating HD classes only

KGs operating both HD and WD classes

2013/14 136 (6.5%) 263 (8.2%) 491 (8.5%)

2014/15 161 (7.3%) 280 (8.6%) 627 (10.2%)

2015/16 157 (6.8%) 328 (9.2%) 554 (8.9%)

2016/17 232 (9.6%) 416 (10.8%) 663 (10.7%)

2017/18 203 (8.8%) 428 (10.9%) 674 (10.9%)

(ii) Age distribution of drop-out teachers in local KGs 2013/14 school year

Age group Below 30 30 – 39 40 – 49 50 – 59 60 or above

Total

No. of wastage 306 313 161 91 19 890

2014/15 school year

Total

No. of wastage 359 330 204 146 29 1 068

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Session 18 EDB - page 18 2015/16 school year

Total

No. of wastage 388 298 179 140 34 1 039

2016/17 school year

Total

No. of wastage 480 362 250 170 49 1 311

2017/18 school year

Total

No. of wastage 447 332 245 212 69 1 305

(iii) Average length of service in years of drop-out teachers in local KGs School year Average length of service in years

2013/14 11.3

2014/15 12.0

2015/16 11.0

2016/17 11.6

2017/18 12.5

(iv) Number and percentage of drop-out teachers in local KGs holding a Certificate in ECE or a Bachelor’s Degree in ECE

School year Holders of Certificate in ECE

Holders of Bachelor’s Degree in ECE

2013/14 407 (45.7%) 183 (20.6%)

2014/15 464 (43.4%) 225 (21.1%)

2015/16 508 (48.9%) 251 (24.2%)

2016/17 599 (45.7%) 368 (28.1%)

2017/18 629 (48.2%) 383 (29.3%)

# “Wastage” rate refers to the number of drop-out teachers as a percentage of the total number of teachers in local KGs as at mid-September of the preceding school year.

“Drop-out teacher” refers to the teachers who had served in a local KG as at mid-September of the preceding school year but no longer served in any KG as at mid-September of the school year concerned.

Note: Figures for the 2017/18 school year are provisional.

- End -

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Question:

With reference to Reply Serial No. EDB074, please provide the following information for the 2013/14 to 2017/18 school years:

(a) the number of whole-day kindergartens (KGs) under the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS) or the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme, the number of school places provided, and the number of these KGs providing Extended Hours Service (please list by school district and provide the total numbers);

(b) the number of half-day KGs under the PEVS or the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme, and the number of school places (please list by school district and provide the total numbers);

(c) the number of KGs providing both whole-day and half-day services under the PEVS or the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme, and the number of school places (please list by school district and provide the total numbers);

(d) the rate of increase/decrease in the number of school places of KGs offering whole-day, half-day and long whole-day services between the 2017/18 school year and the 2016/17 school year (please list by district);

(e) the number of KGs receiving subsidies that have reduced the number of whole-day places in the 2017/18 school year, and if any, the reasons for reduction (please give details under the categories of whole-day KGs, mixed (half-day and whole-day) KGs and long whole-day KGs).

Reply Serial No.

S-EDB09

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(a) From the 2013/14 to 2017/18 school years, the number of whole-day (WD) kindergartens (KGs) under the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS)/the new kindergarten education scheme (KG Scheme), the number of school places, and the number of these KGs providing Extended Hours Service (EHS) (by District Council district) and the respective totals of each year are tabulated in Appendix 1.

(b) From the 2013/14 to 2017/18 school years, the number of half-day (HD) KGs under PEVS/KG Scheme, the number of school places (by District Council district) and the respective totals of each year are tabulated in Appendix 2.

(c) From the 2013/14 to 2017/18 school years, the number of KGs providing both WD and HD services under PEVS/KG Scheme, the number of school places (by District Council district) and the respective totals of each year are tabulated in Appendix 3.

(d) In the 2016/17 and 2017/18 school years, the number of school places of KGs offering HD and WD/long whole-day (LWD) services, and the relevant rate of increase/decrease are tabulated in Appendix 4.

(e) In the 2017/18 school year, a total of 102 KGs joining the KG Scheme reduced the number of WD/LWD places. The respective numbers of KGs offering WD/LWD services only and offering both HD and WD/LWD services were 68 and 34. KGs in Hong Kong operate in a flexible manner. Some KGs increase/decrease their WD places mainly to cater flexibly for parents’ needs. We have not conducted a separate analysis on the provision of the relevant school places of KGs.

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Session 18 EDB - page 21

Appendix 1 Number of WD KGs under the PEVS/KG Scheme,

number of school places and number of these KGs providing EHS by District Council district,

and the respective totals of each year from the 2013/14 to 2017/18 school years

District

2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18

No. of KGs with WD

Classes (Note 1)

No. of School Places (Notes 1&2)

No. of KGs with EHS (Note 3)

No. of KGs with WD

Classes (Note 1)

No. of KGs with WD

Classes (Note 1)

No. of KGs with WD

Classes (Note 1)

No. of KGs with WD

Classes (Note 1)

Central & Western 18 1 364 4 17 1 248 4 17 1 257 5 17 1 279 5 16 1 266 5

Wan Chai 11 900 3 10 845 3 10 857 4 10 864 4 10 889 4

Eastern 50 3 026 9 50 3 062 9 50 3 193 12 51 3 254 12 47 3 175 12

Southern 17 1 195 4 17 1 195 4 17 1 200 5 16 1 218 5 16 1 251 5

Sham Shui Po 35 2 581 7 34 2 678 7 34 2 753 11 33 2 793 11 34 2 917 11

Yau Tsim Mong 20 1 662 5 20 1 663 5 20 1 672 8 19 1 726 8 18 1 830 8

Kowloon City 30 2 715 5 30 2 763 5 29 2 813 10 29 2 844 11 30 2 899 11

Wong Tai Sin 40 3 065 6 41 3 243 6 40 3 312 12 40 3 365 12 40 3 488 12

Kwun Tong 56 4 293 10 56 4 370 10 56 4 603 17 56 4 552 17 55 4 778 17

Tsuen Wan 21 1 769 4 21 1 764 4 21 1 806 6 21 1 842 7 20 1 883 7

Tuen Mun 54 4 059 5 52 3 970 5 51 3 946 12 54 4 047 13 53 4 173 13

Yuen Long 52 4 033 5 52 4 001 5 51 3 813 11 53 3 886 11 52 4 279 11

North 32 2 124 4 30 1 896 4 28 1 778 4 29 1 845 4 36 2 439 4

Tai Po 24 1 988 6 24 1 942 6 23 1 883 7 23 1 844 7 22 1 852 7

Sha Tin 47 3 618 7 47 3 593 7 44 3 595 8 44 3 592 8 47 3 780 8

Sai Kung 37 2 675 4 37 2 772 4 37 2 804 6 37 2 841 7 37 2 879 7

Islands 19 1 249 1 19 1 269 1 19 1 321 1 19 1 330 1 19 1 331 1

Kwai Tsing 50 3 434 8 50 3 454 8 50 3 558 12 48 3 626 12 48 3 787 12

All Districts 613 45 750 97 607 45 728 97 597 46 164 151 599 46 748 155 600 48 896 155

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Note 1: Position as at September of the school year.

Note 2: Accommodation in vacant classrooms not counted.

Note 3: Information provided by the Social Welfare Department (SWD). Figures refer to the number of KGs in receipt of subvention from the SWD to provide EHS.

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Appendix 2 Number of HD KGs under the PEVS/KG Scheme and number of school places

by District Council district

District

2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18

No. of KGs with HD

Classes (Note 1)

No. of School Places

(Notes 1&2)

No. of KGs with HD

Classes (Note 1)

(Notes 1&2)

No. of KGs with HD

Classes (Note 1)

(Notes 1&2)

No. of KGs with HD

Classes (Note 1)

(Notes 1&2)

No. of KGs with HD

Classes (Note 1)

(Notes 1&2)

Central & Western 14 3 629 14 3 830 16 4 120 16 4 288 15 3 922

Wan Chai 8 2 518 7 1 369 7 1 397 8 2 113 7 2 225

Eastern 44 7 610 42 7 399 44 7 813 45 7 919 41 6 316

Southern 10 1 604 10 1 648 11 1 820 11 1 885 11 1 784

Sham Shui Po 26 6 942 26 7 204 25 7 252 28 7 580 28 7 559

Yau Tsim Mong 14 3 168 14 3 213 15 3 652 14 3 831 13 3 348

Kowloon City 27 6 348 27 6 515 29 7 344 28 7 372 31 8 460

Wong Tai Sin 28 4 416 29 4 386 28 4 344 29 4 589 27 4 333

Kwun Tong 42 9 234 42 9 305 40 8 952 44 9 163 45 9 184

Tsuen Wan 19 3 885 21 4 218 22 4 509 23 4 975 24 5 308

Tuen Mun 40 8 225 39 8 887 40 9 071 42 9 046 41 8 467

Yuen Long 49 11 775 49 12 406 52 13 374 52 13 326 52 12 663

North 30 8 656 30 9 578 29 9 587 31 9 550 33 8 457

Tai Po 18 3 084 18 3 215 16 3 609 17 3 710 15 3 564

Sha Tin 36 8 180 36 8 520 36 8 945 36 9 113 38 9 512

Sai Kung 29 4 504 30 4 427 30 4 696 30 4 786 29 4 886

Islands 19 2 093 19 1 946 19 1 914 20 1 915 19 1 804

Kwai Tsing 43 7 586 41 7 579 41 7 732 41 7 511 41 7 290

All Districts 496 103 457 494 105 645 500 110 131 515 112 672 510 109 082

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Appendix 3 Number of KGs providing both WD and HD services under the PEVS/KG Scheme and number of school places

by District Council district

District

2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18

No. of KGs with Both HD

& WD Classes (Note 1)

(Notes 1&2)

Central & Western 9 2 144 8 1 761 8 1 653 8 1 677 7 1 364

Wan Chai 5 1 593 4 1 034 4 1 041 4 962 3 894

Eastern 37 7 374 35 7 068 35 7 199 37 7 406 32 5 544

Southern 10 2 143 10 2 192 10 2 218 9 1 915 9 1 843

Sham Shui Po 22 6 259 21 5 581 20 5 632 19 5 527 20 5 644

Yau Tsim Mong 6 1 545 6 1 543 6 1 640 5 1 881 4 1 427

Kowloon City 17 3 615 17 3 682 16 3 796 15 3 656 17 3 836

Wong Tai Sin 24 4 522 25 4 607 24 4 558 24 4 553 22 4 203

Kwun Tong 30 7 544 30 7 706 30 7 979 31 7 743 30 7 199

Tsuen Wan 12 2 341 12 2 412 12 2 118 12 2 178 11 1 897

Tuen Mun 36 8 804 34 8 945 33 8 459 36 8 847 35 8 358

Yuen Long 35 9 177 35 9 756 34 9 506 36 9 922 34 8 722

North 22 6 845 20 6 818 18 6 232 19 6 028 26 7 055

Tai Po 17 3 857 17 3 944 14 3 649 15 3 795 13 3 537

Sha Tin 27 6 038 27 6 291 25 5 935 25 6 065 27 6 505

Sai Kung 25 4 769 26 4 765 26 5 024 26 5 057 25 5 084

Islands 16 2 728 16 2 598 16 2 616 16 2 594 15 2 360

Kwai Tsing 35 7 250 34 7 144 34 7 328 32 6 443 32 6 297

All Districts 385 88 548 377 87 847 365 86 583 369 86 249 362 81 769

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Appendix 4 Number of school places in KGs offering HD and WD/LWD services

and the relevant rate of increase/decrease in the 2016/17 and 2017/18 school years

District 2016/17 2017/18 Rate of increase/decrease

HD WD/LWD HD WD/LWD HD WD/LWD

Central & Western 6 336 1 364 6 434 1 479 1.5% 8.4%

Wan Chai 7 189 1 371 6 899 1 399 -4.0% 2.0%

Eastern 11 548 3 425 11 365 3 437 -1.6% 0.4%

Southern 5 377 1 395 5 116 1 568 -4.9% 12.4%

Yau Tsim Mong 5 796 2 016 5 669 2 142 -2.2% 6.3%

Sham Shui Po 8 786 2 840 8 825 2 981 0.4% 5.0%

Kowloon City 23 181 4 217 23 123 4 292 -0.3% 1.8%

Wong Tai Sin 5 292 3 376 5 107 3 502 -3.5% 3.7%

Kwun Tong 10 027 4 598 9 875 4 862 -1.5% 5.7%

Sai Kung 7 475 3 098 7 811 3 067 4.5% -1.0%

Sha Tin 12 857 4 022 13 064 4 282 1.6% 6.5%

Tai Po 5 490 2 214 5 554 2 150 1.2% -2.9%

North 11 143 2 017 9 172 2 625 -17.7% 30.1%

Yuen Long 14 929 4 049 14 444 4 428 -3.2% 9.4%

Tuen Mun 9 970 4 384 9 479 4 491 -4.9% 2.4%

Tsuen Wan 6 432 1 941 6 541 1 979 1.7% 2.0%

Kwai Tsing 8 592 3 626 8 410 3 787 -2.1% 4.4%

Islands 3 444 1 666 3 164 1 633 -8.1% -2.0%

All Districts 163 864 51 619 160 052 54 104 -2.3% 4.8%

Note 1: Position as at mid-September of the school year.

Note 2: Figures on school places exclude vacant classrooms and vacant child care centre portions.

- End -

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Question:

Regarding Reply Serial No. EDB078, please provide the following information for the 2013/14 to 2017/18 school years:

(a) the respective number of whole-day and half-day kindergarten students receiving subsidy under the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS) or the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme (KG Scheme), and the respective number of whole-day and half-day kindergarten students under the PEVS/KG Scheme who still need to pay school fees in excess of the voucher value or subsidy received, their percentage share and the average extra amount of school fees paid;

(b) the respective number of half-day kindergarten students receiving subsidy under the PEVS or the KG Scheme who need to pay the extra amount of school fees and their percentage share, with a breakdown by the following: below $100; $100 to below

$400; $400 to below $700; $700 to below $1,000; $1,000 to below $1,300; $1,300 to below $1,600; $1,600 or above;

(c) the respective number of whole-day kindergarten students receiving subsidy under the PEVS or the KG Scheme who need to pay the extra amount of school fees and their percentage share, with a breakdown by the following: below $500; $500 to below

$1,000; $1,000 to below $2,000; $2,000 to below $3,000; $3,000 to below $4,000;

$4,000 or above; and

(d) the respective amount of subsidies allocated to the PEVS and the KG Scheme, and other expenditures on pre-primary education (including the Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme, training for principals and teachers, and subsidies on rent, rates and government rent) from the 2013/14 to 2017/18 school years.

Reply Serial No.

S-EDB10

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(a), (b) and (c)

The information requested in (a) to (c) above is tabulated at Appendix 1. Under the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS), non-means-tested direct fee subsidy, in the form of voucher, is provided for parents with children studying in eligible kindergartens (KGs) to defray school fees. The new KG education scheme (KG Scheme) has been launched with effect from the 2017/18 school year. The policy objectives are to provide good quality and highly affordable KG education, and enhance the accessibility of students to different modes of services that suit their specific needs. Under PEVS and the KG Scheme, fee remission is provided for KG children from needy families under the Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme (KCFRS).

(d)

The breakdown of the expenditures on pre-primary education from 2013-2014 to 2017-18 is tabulated at Appendix 2.

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Appendix 1 (a) The number of whole-day (WD) and half-day (HD) KG students under the PEVS from the 2013/14 to 2016/17 school years and the KG

Scheme in the 2017/18 school year is tabulated below:

2013/14 school year

2014/15 school year

2015/16 school year

2016/17 school year

2017/18 school year (provisional)

HD WD HD WD HD WD HD WD HD WD

(i) Number of students under the PEVS/KG Scheme

89 204 42 516 90 427 42 873 95 548 43 652 95 781 44 132 90 998 46 781

(ii) Number of students who need to pay school fees on top of the subsidy

78 454 42 456 77 979 42 841 80 462 43 583 82 531 44 096 8 509 40 906

(iii) Percentage (%) of (ii) over (i)

87.9% 99.9% 86.2% 99.9% 84.2% 99.8% 86.2% 99.9% 9.4% 87.4%

(iv) Average annual school fees on top of the subsidy

$4,923 $17,081 $4,743 $17,604 $4,875 $18,683 $5,651 $21,354 $3,000 $9,500

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(b) The number of HD KG students under the PEVS from the 2013/14 to 2016/17 school years and the KG Scheme in the 2017/18 school year who need to pay school fees is tabulated below:

Range of annual school fees on top of the subsidy

2013/14 school year

2014/15 school year

2015/16 school year

2016/17 school year

2017/18 school year (provisional) No. of

students

Percentage (%)

No. of students

Percentage (%)

No. of students

Percentage (%)

No. of students

Percentage (%)

No. of students

Percentage (%)

Below $100 411 0.52 576 0.74 993 1.23 163 0.20 109 1.28

$100 – below $400 624 0.80 1 665 2.13 2 784 3.46 1 541 1.87 82 0.96

$400 – below $700 916 1.17 3 647 4.68 3 684 4.58 970 1.18 921 10.82

$700 – below

$1,000

861 1.10 1 494 1.92 2 139 2.66 3 447 4.18 227 2.67

$1,000 – below

$1,300

4 024 5.13 4 214 5.40 2 714 3.37 2 150 2.61 427 5.02

$1,300 – below

$1,600

2 788 3.55 2 294 2.94 3 988 4.96 1 920 2.33 596 7.00

$1,600 or above 68 830 87.73 64 089 82.19 64 160 79.74 72 340 87.65 6 147 72.25

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(c) The number of WD KG students under the PEVS from the 2013/14 to 2016/17 school years and the KG Scheme in the 2017/18 school year who need to pay school fees is tabulated below:

Range of annual school fees on top of the subsidy

2013/14 school year

2014/15 school year

2015/16 school year

2016/17 school year

2017/18 school year (provisional) No. of

students

Percentage (%)

No. of students

Percentage (%)

No. of students

Percentage (%)

No. of students

Percentage (%)

No. of students

Percentage (%)

Below $500 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 229 0.56

$500 – below

$1,000

32 0.08 0 0.00 0 0.00 133 0.30 379 0.93

$1,000 – below

$2,000

0 0.00 32 0.07 140 0.32 31 0.07 1 553 3.80

$2,000 – below

$3,000

0 0.00 85 0.20 125 0.29 0 0.00 1 442 3.53

$3,000 – below

$4,000

0 0.00 234 0.55 168 0.39 122 0.28 2 250 5.50

$4,000 or above

42 424 99.92 42 490 99.18 43 150 99.00 43 810 99.35 35 053 85.68