LCQ17: Grants on supply teachers
********************************

     Following is a question by the Hon Cheung Man-kwong and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (June 10):

Question:

     At present, the Government provides Teacher Relief Grant (TRG), for appointing supply teachers, to aided schools with incorporated management committees (IMCs) established.  The Education Bureau uses 2.5 man-days a year per teacher as the basis for calculating the amount of grant to be provided, and schools are no longer required to apply for reimbursement of expenses of hiring supply teachers on an accountable basis.  However, some members of IMCs have relayed to me that the amount of grant is often insufficient to meet the actual demand, which exerts pressure on both the schools and the teachers because the schools have to meet the shortfall themselves and teachers who have fallen ill refrain from taking sick leave.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the differences in the authorities' policies on provision of supply teacher grant respectively to aided schools with IMCs and those without; the highest, lowest and average amounts of supply teacher grant provided respectively to these two types of schools in each of the past three school years and the current school year so far, broken down by the number of classes in the schools;

(b) whether it is aware of the situation of schools meeting the shortfall themselves because TRG is insufficient to meet the actual demand; if so, of the number of primary schools and secondary schools involved and the shortfall; whether the Government will help schools solve the problem, such as providing additional grant, so as to assist schools in maintaining the quality of teaching;

(c)  of the justification for using 2.5 man-days a year per teacher as the basis for calculating the amount of TRG, and whether the authorities will make adjustment in response to actual demand; and

(d) whether it has plan to review the implementation of TRG; if it has, of the details?

Reply:

President,

(a) Aided schools which have yet to establish incorporated management committees (non-IMC schools) may claim reimbursement from the Education Bureau (EDB) on a case-by-case basis for the appointment of daily-rated supply teachers to replace teachers on the establishment who have been approved to take leave for three days or more but less than 90 days.  At the same time, these schools may also opt to freeze not more than 10% of their teaching establishment and claim the Substitute Teacher Grant (STG) for employing teachers, providing staff training and procuring services, etc.  In case of teachers taking approved leave for 90 days or more, these schools may apply to EDB for reimbursement for hiring temporary teachers on monthly term.

     As for schools with incorporated management committees (IMC schools), EDB provides them with the Teacher Relief Grant (TRG) for appointment of supply teachers to replace teachers on approved leave lasting less than 30 days.  The TRG may also include an optional cash grant for schools which opt to freeze up to 10% of their teaching establishment permanently or temporarily for employing teachers, providing staff training, etc.  In other words, these schools no longer need to apply for reimbursement for appointment of supply teachers   on a case-by-case basis if the leave period is less than 30 days.  For leave periods longer than 30 days, the reimbursement arrangement for IMC schools is the same as that for non-IMC schools.

     In sum, the provision of the TRG for IMC schools aims to provide schools with greater flexibility in deploying their resources and to simplify the administrative procedures for appointment of supply teachers. With more financial support and greater autonomy, these schools may appoint supply teachers, procure education-related services or employ staff to meet their needs.  They are no longer required to apply to EDB for reimbursement of supply teachers to replace teachers on leave for less than 30 days on a case-by-case basis.  The provision of the TRG will not affect teachers' entitlement to sick leave or other approved leaves since all aided schools are required to grant leave to teachers in accordance with the provisions under the Code of Aid.

     The amount of grants on supply teachers disbursed to IMC and non-IMC schools in the past three financial years are set out in the annex.

(b) According to the latest (i.e. 2006/07 school year) consolidated financial statements, about 10% of all IMC schools experienced shortfalls in the TRG.  These schools have exercised the funding flexibility they enjoyed by deploying other recurrent grants to cover the related expenses.

     In addition, according to the report of a three-year (from 2005/06 to 2007/08 school years) consultancy study commissioned by EDB on the implementation and operation of IMCs, over 90% of the schools surveyed recorded surpluses in the TRG in the 2007/08 school year.

     Under the existing mechanism, if a teacher needs to take approved leave for 30 days or more, the school can still apply to EDB for reimbursement for appointment of supply teachers.  EDB has also put in place a special arrangement to allow schools to retain TRG surplus up to three times the annual provision in the relevant year.  In addition, in case of financial difficulties, schools may contact the School Development Officers of the Regional Education Offices to work out a feasible solution.  

(c) The annual recurrent cash grant under TRG is calculated according to the following formula: "2.5 man-days x the number of teachers on the approved teaching establishment x the daily rate of pay for supply teacher".  The "2.5 man-days", being one of the bases for calculating the annual recurrent cash grant, is determined according to the average annual expenditure on daily-rated supply teachers of aided schools in the past.  In 2008, EDB had examined the average annual expenditure on daily-rated supply teachers of aided non-IMC schools in the previous three years and found it appropriate to adopt "2.5 man-days" as the basis for calculating the annual recurrent cash grant.

(d) EDB has been keeping in view the implementation of TRG.  The School Development Officers of Regional Education Offices will continue to advise schools on various aspects concerning the use of TRG, including prudent use of surplus and exercising funding flexibility etc.  They will provide assistance and take appropriate follow up actions in light of the special circumstances of individual schools.

Ends/Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Issued at HKT 15:18

NNNN