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The following is issued on behalf of the Quality Education Fund Steering Committee:
The Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, said today (May 7) that with its objective of promoting innovation, the Quality Education Fund (QEF) is well placed to continue to support and meet the changing needs of the education sector so as to sustain the momentum of education reform and enable schools to excel.
Officiating at an opening ceremony today to launch a series of activities celebrating the 15th anniversary of the QEF, Mr Ng said the QEF would strive to encourage and enhance school-based innovation as well as innovation to help school-based development.
The Chairman of the QEF Steering Committee, Mr Duffy Wong, said that since its establishment in 1998, the QEF has contributed greatly to enhancing learning and teaching through a variety of initiatives from the bottom up, such as curriculum innovation, student support, special education, and teacher and leadership development at all levels of schooling.
"The QEF has supported over 8 200 projects, bringing about successful innovative ideas, practices and experiences for the education sector to raise the quality of education. It is continually improving its operation to meet the needs of our schools," Mr Wong added.
A public lecture entitled "Innovation in Education: What Can We Learn from International Experiences?" was held after the opening ceremony at the Academic Community Hall of the Hong Kong Baptist University. The Head of the Innovation and Measuring Progress Division, Directorate for Education, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Dr Dirk Van Damme, shared his experiences and insight on promoting education innovation with local principals, teachers, academics and professionals.
After the talk, the Chairman of the Education Commission, Dr Moses Cheng; the Chair Professor of Assessment and Evaluation/Co-director of Assessment Research Centre, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Professor Magdalena Mok; and the Chairman of the QEF Dissemination and Promotion Sub-committee, Dr Charles Chan, joined Dr Van Damme in a panel discussion to exchange views on further promoting quality education in Hong Kong.
To showcase the project outcomes and the QEF's achievement in promoting successful innovative ideas and experiences for the education sector, the "QEF Exposition 2013 - Enhancement of Professional Networking for Better Learning" will be held from May 9 to 11 at the Jockey Club Auditorium of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Teachers, parents, students and members of the public are welcome to participate in the exposition.
Six education conferences will be held during the exposition, with themes of "Be the One to Make a Difference", "The On-line Behavior among Adolescents - Challenges and Countermeasures", "Fostering Students' Self-regulated Learning", "Improving the Effectiveness of Learning and Teaching via Assessment for Learning", "Diverse Teaching Strategies and Whole-child Development" and "Screening & Debriefing for a Film on Life Education '4 in Life'".
There will also be 15 exhibition booths introducing QEF-funded projects, covering areas of effective learning, kindergarten education, supporting students with special educational needs and language education.
Ends/Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Issued at HKT 18:56
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