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Following is a question by the Hon Cheung Man-kwong and a reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (May 27):
Question:
It has been reported that the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (the Scheme) implemented by the Education Bureau since the 2007-2008 school year has many problems, which include: the abolition of paying kindergarten teachers according to the Recommended Normative Salary Scale has deprived kindergarten teachers of remuneration protection and dealt a heavy blow to their morale; the self-evaluation and quality review (SQR) required of kindergartens, as well as the trivial and tedious administrative work of the Scheme, have greatly increased the work pressure of kindergarten teachers; using the number of pupils as the basis for calculating the amount of subsidies provided under the Scheme to kindergartens, regardless of whether they are whole-day or half-day, is unfair to whole-day kindergartens; the introduction of a ceiling on fee remission which is fixed for five years renders many low-income families having to pay more school fees than the amount payable before the Scheme was implemented. The pre-primary education sector and parents have relayed to me their strong dissatisfaction with the Scheme. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it will follow the practice of the Macao Government and provide qualification subsidies to kindergarten teachers immediately, to give basic respect for their qualifications;
(b) whether it will comprehensively review kindergarten teachers' work pressure and introduce measures (including reviewing SQR, streamlining the administrative work of the Scheme, as well as making available free periods to kindergarten teachers through improving the staffing ratio) with a view to alleviating kindergarten teachers' overall work pressure; and
(c) when it will review the ceiling on fee remission and the problem of not distinguishing between whole-day kindergartens and half-day kindergartens in the calculation of the amount of subsidies provided under the Scheme, whether it will thoroughly consult the early childhood education bodies, and what the timetable for implementing the relevant improvement measures is?
Reply:
President,
The Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS), since its introduction in the 2007/08 school year, has provided direct fee subsidy for parents with children attending kindergarten to ease their financial burden. At present, a total of 820 kindergartens (or 85% of all kindergartens in the territory) have joined PEVS, and some 117,000 pupils (about 85% of the total) are benefiting from the fee subsidy.
The implementation of PEVS demonstrates Government's support and commitment to pre-primary education and positive response to the previous demands from kindergarten principals and teachers, including financial support for their professional development. PEVS aims to provide direct subsidy for parents, rather than fully cover their kindergarten tuition fees. Currently, over 80% of kindergarten teachers have either obtained the Certificate in Early Childhood Education (C(ECE)) or equivalent qualifications or enrolled in C(ECE) courses. To date, the Education Bureau (EDB) has conducted Quality Review (QR) for more than 320 kindergartens.
In the 2006/07 school year, i.e. before the implementation of PEVS, the annual recurrent expenditure on pre-primary education was about $1.1 billion. The estimated net additional annual recurrent expenditure to be incurred by PEVS is about $2 billion in the 2011/12 school year.
My replies to the questions are as follows:
(a) Hong Kong's pre-primary education has all along been provided by the private sector, which has grown out of the local context. Therefore, kindergartens should be well placed to make use of market forces in determining teacher salaries at their own discretion. In fact, PEVS has injected new resources, which will facilitate kindergartens to offer salaries and working conditions that are necessary to attract and retain good teachers. The Government has made substantial financial commitment in this respect to pre-primary education, and kindergartens should have adequate capacity to provide qualification allowances for their teachers.
(b) We realise and understand that kindergarten teachers are under pressure at work. We appreciate their dedication to education. We have maintained close communication with the sector and explored ways to alleviate the administrative work of kindergartens and the workload of teachers, including revising the standard forms to facilitate their keeping of records and reporting changes. We have, through various measures, streamlined the administrative procedure of PEVS a year after its implementation. The EDB will continue to enhance communication with the sector to ensure smooth and continuous implementation of PEVS.
The QR mechanism for kindergartens is premised on the school's self-evaluation as the centre for continuous improvement, and it is not necessary for kindergartens in the QR process to repeat their existing work. We are aware of kindergarten teachers' concern over the workload and pressure brought about by QR. Nevertheless, most kindergartens that have participated in QR agree that it can help improve teaching practice, and enhance frank exchanges and professional collaboration among the staff. We will strike a balance among all the considerations and continue to clarify any misunderstandings that may exist, through professional experience-sharing activities. This will help the sector gain a better grasp of the self-evaluation process in order to ensure that QR can achieve the effect of promoting kindergartens' continuous development.
(c) At present, families with financial and social needs may continue to apply for fee remission under the Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme. We understand that parents with financial difficulties may be concerned about the current fee remission ceilings when choosing schools for their children. We are now actively exploring ways to address the problem.
From the perspective of child development, half-day learning programmes should be able to cater for the needs of children aged three to six. As such, the amount of subsidy under PEVS is calculated on the basis of a half-day kindergarten place. However, families with financial and social needs may apply for fee remission for whole-day kindergarten classes to obtain additional financial assistance on top of the voucher subsidy.
According to its original plan, the Government will review the implementation of PEVS in the 2011/12 school year. In view of the concerns expressed by the pre-primary sector and parents over PEVS, the EDB has started to collate the relevant information and undertake the preparatory work for the review. In any case, we will continue to consult the stakeholders on the improvement measures.
Ends/Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Issued at HKT 13:04
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