******************************************************
The Committee on Professional Development of Teachers and Principals (COTAP) published the First Progress Report on its work today (April 20). The Report summarised the progress made by COTAP since its establishment in June 2013, and presented its views and recommendations as well as its work plan.
The Chairperson of COTAP, Dr Carrie Willis, said, "Since COTAP's inception, we have engaged in extensive dialogue with key stakeholders in the education sector to discuss and understand the aspirations of and challenges faced by the teaching profession, aiming to enhance mutual understanding, build consensus and explore opportunities for collaboration. We believe that the teaching force and school leadership play pivotal roles in ensuring a high-quality education system, and that the quality of our teaching profession is of paramount importance for students' achievement and whole-person development.
"Building on the firm foundation laid down by the former Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications and drawing upon best practices overseas, we have reviewed the strengths and issues of concern in the professional development of our teaching force and identified priority areas for continuous improvement. We have since drawn up our vision, mission, objectives and strategies to take our work forward.
"During the first phase of our work, we have drawn up a number of areas of focus under our broad strategies to be developed rigorously for implementation. Three main targets, with specific details set under each, have been identified. They are: (1) strengthened school leadership and reflective culture; (2) enhanced teacher quality; and (3) supportive environment for professional development."
To pursue these targets, COTAP will launch an overarching project, T-excel@hk. Eight areas of focus (please refer to the Annex) are covered under T-excel@hk and will be prioritised for implementation in phases.
Upon dissemination of the First Progress Report, COTAP will hold meetings with stakeholder groups to facilitate professional exchange and close collaboration among the school sector, teacher education institutions, educational bodies, parents and the Education Bureau to take forward its recommendations as set out in T-excel@hk.
Members of the public are welcome to browse the Report, which has been uploaded to the COTAP webpage (www.cotap.hk/download/progress_report/eng/flipbook/index.html).
Ends/Monday, April 20, 2015
Issued at HKT 17:21
NNNN
