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Following is a question by Dr Hon Pan Pey-chyou and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (January 20):
Question:
I have received complaints from more than 10 members of the public alleging that a training provider had admitted students indiscriminately to an English course registered under the Continuing Education Fund (CEF), and the English proficiency of the students enrolled in the course varied so tremendously that even though many of them had attained an attendance of over 80% and had even repeated study for one year, they could not pass the relevant public examination in spoken English and successfully complete the course, rendering them ineligible to apply for reimbursement of 80% of the course fee from CEF. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the total number of complaints against CEF courses received by the authorities in the past three years, and the number of training providers involved; among the complaints, the number of substantiated cases, the items of breaches involved and what follow-up actions the authorities had taken;
(b) whether there is regulation by the authorities on the qualifications of CEF course instructors, their turnover rate and the practices adopted by the training providers in promoting their courses; if they have, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will formulate respective specifications for such matters; and
(c) how the authorities avoid the recurrence of the aforesaid situation of training providers admitting students indiscriminately?
Reply:
President,
(a) Currently, around 7,000 courses provided by around 300 course providers are registered under the Continuing Education Fund (CEF) as reimbursable courses. During the period from 2007-08 to 2009-10 (up to December 31, 2009), the Office of the Continuing Education Fund (OCEF) received a total of 79 complaints against the reimbursable courses under the CEF, involving 68 course providers. Altogether 36 of these complaints were substantiated or partially substantiated after investigation. The 26 course providers involved have failed to comply with the Terms and Conditions applicable to registered reimbursable courses (Terms and Conditions), mainly in relation to publicity and promotional practice, course quality and delivery, refund of course fees as well as suspected fraud.
The Administration will take follow-up action commensurate with the severity of any non-compliance. The OCEF may issue a written warning to a course provider who has failed to comply with the Terms and Conditions. If the non-compliance is serious or recurring in nature, the Administration will consider de-registering the concerned courses from the list of CEF reimbursable courses. In case of suspected criminal activities, such as deception or bribery, the case will be immediately referred to the relevant law enforcement agencies for follow-up action. The Administration may in the interim suspend enrolment on the concerned courses as CEF reimbursable courses.
Of the 36 complaints substantiated and partially substantiated during the aforementioned period, taking into account the subject matter of the complaint as well as other findings from investigations, the Administration has de-registered 34 courses involving six course providers. The remaining 20 course providers received written warnings from the OCEF.
(b) and (c) We do monitor the qualifications of course instructors under the CEF. The Terms and Conditions require that CEF course providers shall recruit an adequate number of appropriately qualified and experienced instructors. When course providers apply for registration of their courses under the CEF, they have to submit to the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) the appointment criteria of the instructors. Generally, they also have to provide specific information about the qualifications of the instructors for assessment. Although there is no specific stipulation in the Terms and Conditions on the turnover rate of instructors, after a course has been registered under the CEF, the course provider has to obtain written approval of the Administration before changing the instructors. We consider the existing arrangement appropriate for sufficiently ensuring the quality of courses and protecting the interest of learners.
There is also a set of stipulations in the Terms and Conditions on the promotion of CEF reimbursable courses which aims to prevent course providers from admitting students indiscriminately. To protect learners' interest, only those courses which have been registered are allowed to be promoted as CEF reimbursable courses. Course providers are generally not allowed to advertise themselves as the agents, employees, servants, representatives or partners of the Government. The Administration may require a course provider to withdraw or cease using any promotional materials which it considers to be inappropriate or undesirable. To prevent learners from being lured by financial inducements to sign up for courses, course providers are not allowed to offer any gifts, discounts or any other concessions. Furthermore, course providers are generally held accountable for all acts and omissions of their agents and sub-contractors in relation to observing the Terms and Conditions. Course providers are also prohibited from engaging learners who are applying for reimbursement under CEF as recruitment agents.
In addition, course providers are required to specify in their applications for registration as CEF reimbursable courses the admission requirements of learners for the concerned courses. The HKCAAVQ will assess if the admission requirements are appropriate in accordance with the level and requirements of the courses. If approved, course providers are then required to conduct admission according to the requirements and maintain related documentary record. This stipulation helps ensure that learners are admitted to courses that suit their ability.
In case of non-compliance with any of the stipulations above, the Administration will take appropriate follow-up action as set out in paragraph (a). The Administration will continue to strengthen the risk-based mechanism of course monitoring and inspections of course providers to ensure that the Terms and Conditions are observed. We will also increase the transparency of the courses by, for instance, enhancing the contents of OCEF's website so as to facilitate learners in choosing courses which best suit their needs.
Ends/Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Issued at HKT 11:55
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