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The following is issued on behalf of the Quality Education Fund Steering Committee:
The Chairman of the Quality Education Fund (QEF) Steering Committee, Mr Duffy Wong, today (March 23) announced the direction of the QEF and the 11 Priority Themes for the 2015/16 QEF applications, as well as the application procedures.
Mr Wong said that the QEF, introduced in 1998, was committed to promoting school-based innovation and facilitating concerted efforts among tertiary institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), parents and school sponsoring bodies to enhance the quality of school education.
Mr Wong said, "Determined to enhance the quality of school education, the QEF has set the following direction: (1) to align with the Government's education policies, such as strengthening the learning motivation and knowledge of our students in science, technology, mathematics, Chinese history and culture, nurturing positive values in students, and supporting information technology in education and life planning education; (2) to continue to support school-based innovation and also the adaptation / enhancement of existing practices in schools so as to address their specific needs; (3) to promote research and development projects as a means of fostering more evidence-based practices and consolidating experiences; and (4) to strengthen the support measures for specific student groups, including non-Chinese speaking students and students of less favourable socio-economic status.
"The priority themes cover areas to which the QEF will give priority consideration in assessing proposals. Elaboration on the respective priority themes are given to facilitate the preparation of proposals. This year, we have renamed one of the priority themes in order to reflect the need to strengthen the knowledge foundation and learning efficacy in Primary General Studies, Key Learning Areas / Subject Curricula and Liberal Studies."
The 11 priority themes for 2015/16 are:
Areas Priority Themes
Learning * Catering for Learners' Diversity
and Teaching * Effective Learning and Teaching
of Languages
* Enhancing Learning and Teaching,
and Assessment Literacy with a
view to Enhancing Student
Learning Outcomes in Primary
General Studies, Key Learning
Areas / Subject Curricula and
Liberal Studies
* Using e-Learning (IT) for
Effective Learning
* Values Education
* Creative Arts and Culture
Education
Support for * Healthy Lifestyle and Positive
Students and Development of Students
School Ethos * Support for Students with
Diverse Needs
* Promoting Whole Child Development
in Kindergarten Education
Management and * Supporting Effective School
Organisation Management and Leadership
* Teacher Development and Wellness
for Promoting Schools as Learning
Organisations
To familiarise potential applicants with the new priority themes and application procedures, the QEF Secretariat will organise targeted briefing sessions for the following groups:
* secondary schools and school sponsoring bodies (March 26, pm);
* primary schools, special schools and school sponsoring bodies (April 9, am);
* kindergartens (April 13, pm);
* tertiary education institutions (April 21, am); and
* NGOs (April 28, am).
Details of the application rules will be uploaded to the QEF website (qef.org.hk) on March 24. Apart from briefing sessions, the QEF Secretariat will continue to organise regular individual consultation sessions and proposal-writing workshops for prospective applicants pertaining to the preparation of proposals.
The QEF will continue to enhance communication with stakeholders and encourage partnership of different sectors with schools to gain and share the successful experience of QEF projects. For instance, there are Thematic Networks for the sustainable development and capacity building of teachers. QEF deliverables, such as teaching and learning resources, are available through direct sale at 25 designated bookstores and via mail order and on-line purchase at the QEF website and Hong Kong Education City.
To capitalise on e-Learning, the QEF has developed nine sets of electronic deliverables to facilitate self-directed learning. The public can access these deliverables via the QEF Cyber Resource Centre and Hong Kong Education City. The QEF will continue to identify good projects for developing more electronic deliverables with interactive functions to promote quality education.
Since its establishment in 1998, the QEF has supported over 8 700 projects and granted over $4.1 billion, bringing about successful innovative ideas, practices and experiences to raise the quality of education. The QEF processed 847 applications in the 2013/14 school year, among which 344 applications were approved involving a total grant amounting to around $120 million. The grants approved in the school year range from about $30,000 to $8 million.
Ends/Monday, March 23, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:34
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