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Following is a question by the Hon Audrey Eu and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (November 7):
Question:
Regarding the subsidies provided by the Government for pre-primary education, will the Government inform this Council of:
(a) the respective numbers of places offered by kindergartens and kindergarten-cum-child care centres (hereafter collectively referred to as "KGs") which have participated in the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme in the 2007-2008 school year and those which have not;
(b) the actual expenses incurred to date for implementing the above Scheme in the 2007-2008 school year;
(c) the additional expenses required each year for extending the above Scheme to all KGs; and
(d) the respective amounts of special grants provided by the Government in the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 school years to school children of families receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance to cover KG fees?
Reply:
Madam President,
My reply to the four questions, in seriatim, is as follows:
(a) The actual number of places in the kindergartens concerned in this school year will only be available at a later stage. Based on extrapolation from data last year, the number of places in the operating classes of kindergartens joining Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS) and those not joining are estimated to be 171,000 and 26,000 respectively.
(b) PEVS has been up and running starting from the 2007/08 school year. The actual expenses of the vouchers incurred for the four months from August up to November 2007 is around $360 million.
(c) The additional expenses for extending PEVS to all kindergartens is estimated to be around $200 million each year upon full implementation, based on projection made earlier.
(d) The amount of special grants provided by the Government to school children of families receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance to cover KG fees is $159 million in the 2006/07 school year and $14 million in the 2007/08 school year (up to September 2007).
Ends/Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:25
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