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The Education Bureau (EDB) announced today (February 23) that one vacant school premises in Central and Western District is open for application by eligible school sponsoring bodies (SSBs) of all existing public sector and Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) secondary schools for physical extension in the School Allocation Exercise (SAE) 2016.
The vacant school is the ex-premises of St Paul's Co-educational (Kennedy Road) Primary School at 26 Kennedy Road, Hong Kong, which has been accorded Grade 1 status by the Antiquities Advisory Board. Details of the vacant school premises are set out at the Annex.
"Existing schools which are of old planning standards and designs may be incapable of infrastructure improvements due to the lack of space or other physical constraints. In this light, a vacant school premises in Central and Western District has been identified for allocation for physical extension in this exercise to help an existing secondary school to overcome shortage of teaching space in its school premises. This exercise is open for application by all existing public sector and DSS secondary schools for physical extension," an EDB spokesman said.
"This SAE is aimed at enhancing the learning and teaching environment of the school for the benefit of students. Allocation of the school premises will be conducted on a competitive basis among the SSBs. Quality of education will be the prime consideration in assessing the applications. Factors to be considered include the operation track record of the applicant schools, the quality of the proposed school plans for physical extension to enhance the existing teaching and learning environment, the condition of the school's existing premises, etc. The administrative arrangements in relation to the operation of the existing school and the extension will also be taken into account. With all things being comparable, priority will be given to applicant schools which are located in the same district as the vacant school premises to facilitate daily school operation. However, these are not prerequisites for the submission of applications since each case has to be assessed on its own merits."
All applications will be considered by the School Allocation Committee comprising official and non-official members. SSBs are required to complete an application form and submit it together with the required supporting documents, and a proposed school plan (of not more than 10 pages including all annexes plus an executive summary of not more than two pages) covering the vision and mission, management and organisation, learning and teaching, school ethos and support for students, student performance targets and self-evaluation indicators, and so forth. SSBs may also make reference to other school(s) that they are operating and the respective performance of the school(s) (if any) to substantiate their cases.
In line with the EDB's established policy for school allocation, when submitting the application, the SSB should be exempt from tax under Section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance, and be:
(1) incorporated under the Companies Ordinance (the successful SSB would be required to ensure that its articles of association contain all the standard texts required for allocation of a school premises); or
(2) incorporated under other ordinances, with its constitution satisfying the Permanent Secretary for Education as being fit to be considered for allocation of a school premises.
In addition, the SSB must be running one or more public sector or DSS secondary school in Hong Kong and must be the registered SSB of the applicant school.
The application form for the SAE 2016 and other reference materials can be downloaded from the EDB homepage (www.edb.gov.hk/en/sch-admin/sch-premises-info/allocation-of-sch/index.html). More information on this SAE can also be found on the homepage.
The duly completed application form and supporting documents, together with 19 copies of the proposed school plan and executive summary, should reach the Infrastructure and Research Support Division of the EDB (6/F, East Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong) on or before 5pm on March 23, 2016. Late or incomplete applications, as well as applications via email, will not be processed.
For enquiries, please call 3509 8413 or 3509 8411.
Ends/Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Issued at HKT 18:13
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