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Following is a question by the Hon Mrs Regina Ip and a reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, in the Legislative Council today (November 27):
Question:
According to the information on the web site of the Education Bureau, the results of the central allocation of Primary One places as well as the results of the allocation of discretionary places and central allocation of Secondary One places (allocation results) for 2014/15 school year will be released on June 7 and July 8, 2014 respectively, while those primary and secondary schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) will conduct their own admission exercises and determine when to release the results. It has been learnt that DSS schools usually set the deadlines for admitted students to reply whether to accept the places ahead of the release dates of the allocation results, and those students who have accepted places of DSS schools will not be allocated government or aided school places. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it will consider advancing the release dates of the allocation results to dates earlier than the deadlines set by DSS schools for students to reply if they accept the places, so as to allow those students offered places by DSS schools and their parents to make choices between the places offered by DSS schools and those by government or aided schools; if not, of the reasons for that;
(b) if the allocation results will not be released earlier, whether the authorities will consider increasing the ratio of discretionary places for schools and requiring the schools concerned to advance the release of the results of allocating such places; if not, of the reasons for that; and
(c) as there are views that the experience of teachers has direct impact on a school's attractiveness to gifted students and there is a succession gap of teacher talents at present, whether the Government will consider deferring the retirement ages of school principals and teachers to help those schools with enrolment difficulties to maintain their teaching quality, so as to attract students to enrol in such schools; if not, of the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) and (b) Parts (a) and (b) of the question primarily suggest early announcement of the allocation results of public sector school places to facilitate parents' decision on whether to send their children to a Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) school or public sector school, and increase in the proportion of discretionary places (DP). Below is a consolidated reply to both parts.
We appreciate that some parents on one hand hope that they can have different types of schools to choose from; and on the other hand are keen about their children having a greater chance of being admitted to their preferred school to suit the needs, aptitude and abilities of their children. We also note schools' wish to have more flexibility in admitting students according to their educational philosophy and characteristics with steady and sustainable development to ensure the quality of teaching.
The allocation mechanism (including the Primary One Admission (POA) System (Note 1) and Secondary School Places Allocation (SSPA) System (Note 2)) aims to facilitating allocation of school places in an orderly manner. It has been the general consensus of stakeholders that we should not rely too heavily on academic results to assess studentsˇ¦ ability or to select students for basic education. Premised on this, we have conducted a comprehensive review of the allocation mechanism. Having considered and balanced the views of different stakeholders, the prevailing detailed arrangements of the POA and SSPA have been implemented since 2005 and 2007 respectively.
Under the POA, DP quota accounts for 50% of the places of a school. As regards the SSPA, to provide parents with more opportunities to directly select their preferred schools, the DP quota of a school has been increased from 20% to 30% since 2007. The number of schools that parents may apply for their children has also been increased to two at most. Besides, parents are only required to indicate their order of preference to the EDB. Major stakeholders generally agree that the 30% DP quota and DP application to two schools at most would strike the right balance in the light that parents and students are provided with more school choices while schools are allowed greater discretion to admit students according to their educational philosophy and characteristics. In tandem, the aforesaid arrangements would alleviate schoolsˇ¦ pressure arising from processing a substantial number of applications. With the above arrangements, schools can also reserve most of their places for students in their school net during central allocation. Further, it would avoid aggravating the difference among schools in the utilisation of the DP quota and the undesirable labelling effect so caused.
DP admission results of the POA are released in end-November each year. We have explored whether DP admission results of the SSPA can be released earlier. However, stakeholders having connection with primary schools are generally concerned about the impact of the early release of results on the overall learning atmosphere among P6 students and teachersˇ¦ handling of different learning needs and expectations of students arising from those who have secured a place in the DP stage while others have to await their central allocation results. The Secondary School Places Allocation Committee (Note 3) has had in-depth discussions of the issue from time to time (Note 4). However, a consensus is yet to be reached due to diverse views.
It should be appreciated that the school places allocation mechanism involves different stakeholders. Both primary and secondary schools have to handle within a short span of time a substantial number of applications and related matters including school choice counselling, internal assessments, interview arrangements, etc. to ensure that the S1 places are allocated in a fair and equitable manner. Besides, DSS schools enjoy autonomy over admission of students (including the time for releasing admission results). Practically, there would be operational difficulties to ensure that the allocation results of P1 and S1 places could be released before the deadlines set by individual DSS schools for parents' acceptance of offer.
(c) No statistical evidence is available to show that there is a direct correlation between teachers' length of service and their school's attractiveness to gifted students. In general, schools are served by teachers of varying age and length of service. Under the Education Ordinance, except with the written permission of the Permanent Secretary for Education, a person employed as a teacher or the principal of an aided school shall not continue to be so employed in posts on the establishment for a school year or any part thereof if he/she has attained the age of 60 years or more before the commencement of the school year. Furthermore, deferring the retirement ages of school principals and teachers will also affect the employment opportunities of prospective teachers. In fact, it is the responsibility of the School Management Committee or Incorporated Management Committee of aided schools to observe the relevant retirement age requirement and plan ahead for better human resources management, together with the development of a succession plan, including internal promotion, promotion or redeployment from other schools under the same school sponsoring body and open recruitment, so as to facilitate a healthy staff turnover. Except under very special circumstances, applications for extension of service normally will not be granted.
Note 1: Under the POA System, DP takes up 50% of a school's P1 places. DP admission results are released in end-November each year. Children who have not been offered a discretionary place will participate in the Central Allocation (CA). Each primary school should earmark its remaining P1 places, i.e. 50%, for CA.
Note 2: The SSPA System is divided into two stages: DP and CA. For DP, schools should set their admission criteria and consider students' applications according to the guidelines of the Education Bureau (EDB). The computer-processed CA is based on the order of school preference and scaled internal assessment results of the applicant students as well as the random number assigned by the computer system.
Note 3: The Secondary School Places Allocation Committee is an advisory body under the EDB tasked to give advice to the Secretary for Education on the detailed operation of the SSPA System.
Note 4: Over the past two years, the Secondary School Places Allocation Committee had in-depth discussions at meetings on November 24, 2011, March 15, 2012, March 13, 2013 and June 20, 2013.
Ends/Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:08
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