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Existing Support Measures for
the Implementation of School-based Management and the Operation of the Incorporated Management Committees Since the implementation of School-based Management (SBM), the Education Bureau (EDB) has been providing various support measures to help schools with an Incorporated Management Committee (IMC) put in place an SBM system that emphasizes accountability and transparency and handle matters related to human resources and financial management, etc. The EDB will offer advisory services to schools and school sponsoring bodies (SSBs) whenever necessary.
2. In response to the relevant recommendations made by the Task Force on School-based Management Policy, the EDB implements different optimization measures starting from the 2019/20 school year to further strengthen the support for IMCs, including, amongst others, enhancement of the EDB’s visits specifically for IMCs, provision of a school executive officer, disbursement of the School-based Management Top-up Grant, production of online self-learning packages and learning tools, and refinement of the existing reference materials, etc. The relevant support measures are outlined below:
Intensive school-based support
3. Since 2005, the EDB has been conducting school visits specifically on SBM to provide on-site support to aided schools, to offer advice on IMC operation to ensure their compliance with the Education Ordinance and Education Regulations, and to enhance their awareness in complying with the EDB’s requirements, with a view to helping schools resolve their school-based issues. The Review Report of Task Force on School-based Management Policy released in July 2019 remarked that after years of implementation of the SBM policy, most schools have acquired relevant experience. Overall speaking, schools are now operated in a smooth and orderly manner. However, considering that individual schools have been found to have malpractice in school governance in recent years, the EDB will enhance its school visits specifically for IMCs, during which officers from different sections within the EDB will pay joint visits to schools whenever necessary to discuss school
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governance issues with school managers direct so as to offer more in-depth advice, thereby intervening timely to strengthen the operation of IMCs.
Briefings, seminars and structured programmes
4. To equip managers for smooth operation of the IMC and to strengthen school governance, the EDB provides the Structured Manager Training Programmes, briefings, sharing sessions and thematic seminars for different categories of school managers on various topics covering personnel management, financial management, procurement procedures, legal principles of school operation and the latest educational issues, etc. so as to enable school managers to have a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities as the key personnel under SBM and familiarize them with IMC operation.
Reference materials and information kits
5. To facilitate schools to operate their IMC smoothly and efficiently, the following documents and information kits have been compiled and reviewed regularly by the EDB for use by IMC schools: Code of Aid for Aided Schools, Compendium to Code of Aid for Aided Schools, Supplement to School Administration Guide, Guide to Financial Management for Aided Schools Operated by IMCs, various handy tips on personnel and financial management, etc. A variety of web-based resources on school governance are also available on the EDB webpage for reference.
Optimization of SBM webpage and production of online tools
6. To further refine the SBM webpage and facilitate school managers to obtain the required information for reference at any time, the EDB has newly developed the webpage “School-based Management Learning Channel” with a view to providing a self-learning platform for school managers. Covering Essential Information of SBM, Progressive Learning Journey for School Managers and suchlike, the Channel enables school managers (including school supervisors) to explore and learn according to their needs and pace. Besides, the EDB has provided the suggested learning areas and the tool for recording training of school managers, which serve as a reference for facilitating SSBs
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and IMCs to plan for school manager training. Online tools are also produced to help school managers grasp the essence of SBM.
Information bank of potential managers
7. As a means to support the SSBs and IMCs to fill the vacancies of SSB manager/independent manager, an information bank of persons who are interested to serve as school managers was formed by the EDB in the 2016/17 school year by inviting members of selected professional bodies who are interested to serve as IMC members to provide information for reference by SSBs/IMCs looking for SSB managers/independent managers. To enrich the aforementioned information bank, the EDB also invites persons who specialize in educational research, have good knowledge of school administration or possess management experience to join the bank. SSBs or schools can approach the EDB for obtaining the relevant information, if necessary, to identify suitable persons and fill the vacancies for school managers or make plans for succession of school managers.
IMC Liability Insurance Policy (IMCLIP)
8. To protect school managers against civil liability in respect of anything done by them in good faith and to enable them to have peace-of-mind while performing their roles and responsibilities as IMC managers, the EDB takes out the IMCLIP to protect the IMC of aided schools and their managers from legal liability as a result of claims arising from their wrongful acts in performing school management duties. The insurance will cover management liability, vicarious educator liability and employment-related matters. Besides, an annual briefing is conducted to help schools familiarize with the coverage and related claim arrangements of the IMCLIP, and to draw schools’ attention to the important points about risk management.
Provision of school executive officer
9. Starting from the 2019/20 school year, the EDB implements the “One Executive Officer for Each School” policy. All public sector schools and schools under Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) are provided with resources for
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hiring 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 education tasks, to take care of student development, and to support the operation of the IMCs.
School-based Management Top-up Grant
10. Starting from the 2019/20 school year, each public sector school is provided with the School-based Management Top-up Grant as recurrent funding at a rate of $50,000 per annum. The rate of the Grant is subject to adjustment in accordance with the June-on-June movement of the Composite Consumer Price Index each year. For DSS schools, the Grant is subsumed in the DSS unit subsidy rates. Schools are advised to, on a need basis, deploy the Grant flexibly to support the operation of their IMCs and strengthen the training for their school managers.
References:
§ LC Paper No. CB(4)129/17-18(03)
§ Review Report of Task Force on School-based Management Policy
§ Education Bureau Circular Memorandum No. 37/2019 “One Executive Officer for Each School” Policy
§ Education Bureau Circular No. 20/2019 School-based Management Top- up Grant
Professional Development and Training Division May 2020
