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Education Bureau Circular Memorandum No. EDBCM 32/2018
From : Permanent Secretary for Education To : Heads of Government, Aided (including Special Schools), Caput and Direct Subsidy Scheme Secondary Schools Ref. : EDB(CD/ELE)/4236/2/1/VEPF I
Date 14 March 2018
Vocational English Programme Grant
Summary
This Circular Memorandum informs schools of the Language Fund Project
“Vocational English Programme” (VEP) and invites them to apply for the Grant to enrol senior secondary students on related vocational English courses.
Details
2. The VEP aims to develop students’ English proficiency, enhance their confidence and interest in learning English, and prepare them for vocational education and work. The vocational English courses, which will be offered by three designated post-secondary institutions, are recognised under the Qualifications Framework (QF). Schools can apply for the Grant to provide subsidies for S4 and S5 students to enrol on a vocational English course provided by any one of the three designated post-secondary institutions in the 2018/19 school year. (For details, please refer to Annex 1.)
Application
3. Interested schools are requested to complete the Application Form at Annex 2 and submit it by post to the English Language Education Section of the Curriculum Development Institute, Education Bureau on or before 27 April 2018.
Briefing Session
4. Schools are invited to attend a briefing session for the VEP Grant scheduled for 9 April 2018. For enrolment, schools are requested to complete the Reply Slip at Annex 3 and return it to the English Language Education Section by fax on or before 29 March 2018.
Enquiry
5. For enquiries, please contact the English Language Education Section at 2892 6482 or 2892 5454.
Sheridan LEE
for Permanent Secretary for Education c.c. Heads of Sections - for information
Annex 1
Vocational English Programme Grant
Objectives
The Vocational English Programme (VEP) aims to prepare senior secondary students for vocational education and work, while at the same time, develop their English proficiency and enhance their confidence and interest in learning English.
Target Students and Number of Beneficiaries
2. The VEP targets S4 and S5 students of the 2018/19 cohort who are interested in learning English in vocational contexts and are prepared to pursue vocational education or to work upon the completion of secondary education. Each school will receive a funding of $200,000 for enrolling at least 20 of their S4 and/or S5 students on a vocational English course offered by any one of the three designated post-secondary institutions in the 2018/19 school year. Around 1 000 students from 50 schools will benefit from the VEP.
Framework and Design
3. The vocational English course under the VEP is independent of the school English Language curriculum and comprises three to five modules, taking up approximately 150 teaching hours. Each module is pegged at Qualifications Framework (QF) Levels 2 or 3. Assessment is arranged at the end of each module to ensure that students have attained the expected proficiency level. Upon successful completion of each module, students will be awarded a certificate specifying the level attained in QF for further studies and employment.
Course Providers
4. The following three post-secondary institutions will offer vocational English courses1 under the VEP:
Caritas Bianchi College of Careers
HKU SPACE Community College
Vocational Training Council
1 Details of the vocational English courses (e.g. course fee, schedule, venue) will be provided on the course providers’
websites. The links to the websites will be included in the PowerPoint slides for the Briefing Session, which will be
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Implementation
5. Each of the 50 successful applicant schools will receive a funding of $200,000 for enrolling at least 20 of their S4 and/or S5 students on any vocational English courses from the course providers. The courses will commence in the 2018/19 school year and will be completed no later than the end of the 2019/20 school year. Should schools wish to nominate more students to attend the vocational English courses, they may consider topping up the allocation or providing each student with partial subsidies.
6. Schools can choose to have students attend the vocational English course at the designated venues provided by the course providers or, subject to the provision of individual course providers, commission a course provider to organise the vocational English course for students at school either outside regular lesson time or in students’ free lessons.
Role of Participating Schools
7. Participating schools are required to:
identify suitable students who will benefit from the vocational English courses and obtain their parents’ consent;
liaise with the course providers and disseminate information about the vocational English courses to both parents and students;
handle administrative work such as monitoring students’ attendance records;
pay the course fees to the course providers on a module basis and return any unspent balance to the EDB;
assist in collecting evaluation data from participating students by means of questionnaires and interviews; and
submit evaluation reports to the EDB.
Grant Usage and Allocation
8. The amount of grant per school is $200,000, which will be disbursed to the successful applicant schools by the end of August 2018. The Grant should be used solely to cover the course fees and is not meant for any additional charges such as re-assessment fees. Unspent balance, if any, should be returned to the EDB upon the completion of the VEP.
Application
9. Interested schools are requested to complete the Application Form at Annex 2 and send it by post to the English Language Education Section at Room 1206, Wu Chung House, 213
Queen’s Road East, Wanchai on or before 27 April 2018. Late submission or application with incomplete information will not be considered.
Briefing Session
10. Schools are cordially invited to attend the following briefing session in which further details of the VEP will be provided.
Briefing Session for the Vocational English Programme Grant Date: 9 April 2018 (Monday)
Venue: Room WB (Lecture Theatre), 4/F, West Block, EDB Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre, 19 Suffolk Road, Kowloon Tong
Time: 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Language: Cantonese
Schools wishing to make nominations for the briefing session are requested to complete and return the Reply Slip at Annex 3 by fax on or before 29 March 2018. In the event of public announcements by the Education Bureau that all schools are to be closed as a result of adverse weather conditions (e.g. tropical cyclone or rainstorm), the briefing session will be postponed until further notice.
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Annex 2
Vocational English Programme Grant
Application Form
Please read Education Bureau Circular Memorandum No. EDBCM 32/2018 before filling in this form. The completed Application Form should be sent to the English Language Education Section at Room 1206, Wu Chung House, 213 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai on or before 27 April 2018. Please specify “Application for Vocational English Programme Grant” on the envelope.
Part I: School information
School Name: ______________________________________________________________
School Address: ______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Co-ordinator: * Dr/Mr/Mrs/Ms _________________________________________________
Telephone No.: ___________________ Fax No.: ______________________________
Email Address: ______________________________________________________________
* Please delete where inapplicable.
Part II: Past students’ performance
Please indicate in the following table student performance in the HKDSE English Language Examinations from 2015-2017.
No. of students obtaining:
Level 5 or above Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 Unclassified 2017
2016 2015
Part III: Reasons for applying for the Vocational English Programme Grant
Please provide relevant information such as school’s background, students’ needs and support from school in the box below or on a separate sheet.
Signature of School Head: ___________________________
Name of School Head: ___________________________
(in BLOCK letters) Date: ___________________________
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Annex 3
Vocational English Programme Grant Briefing Session
Reply Slip
(To be returned by fax on or before 29 March 2018)
To: English Language Education Section Curriculum Development Institute Education Bureau
[Fax: 2834 7810]
Date: 9 April 2018 (Monday)
Venue: Room WB (Lecture Theatre), 4/F, West Block, EDB Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre, 19 Suffolk Road, Kowloon Tong Time: 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Language: Cantonese
Name of Participants Post
1 * Dr/Mr/Mrs/Ms
2 * Dr/Mr/Mrs/Ms
* Please delete where inapplicable.
School Name: ______________________________________________________________
Telephone No.: ______________________________________________________________
Email Address: ______________________________________________________________
Date: _____________________________________________________________
