[Archive] School self-evaluation

　　Following is the question raised by Ir Dr the Hon Ho Chung-tai and a written reply by the Secretary for Education and Manpower Professor Arthur K C Li at Legislative Council meeting today (June 11):

Question:

It has been reported that the Education and Manpower Bureau asks all primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong to conduct self-evaluation in the new school year commencing in September this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether consultation has been carried out prior to implementing the school self-evaluation project; if so, of the parties consulted and the consultation results;

(2) of the mechanism in place to monitor self-evaluation by schools; and

(3) whether the scope of the school self-evaluation project will be extended to cover universities?

Reply:

Madam President,

(1) School self-evaluation (SSE) is not a new concept, and has been a core element of the School Management Initiative (SMI) promulgated in 1991 and the School-based Management (SBM) fully implemented in all public sector schools in 2000. In launching SSE, EMB has conducted formal and informal consultations with school councils and advisory bodies such as Board of Education, Education Commission and the Legislative Council Panel on Education. Feedback has been positive and the benefits of SSE have been well recognized.

(2) Schools' self-evaluation is monitored through the external review of Quality Assurance inspection (QAI). EMB will conduct external school review to validate schools' self-evaluation and assess schools' performance to ensure that schools can facilitate their own development through SSE. In addition, the School Management Committee has the responsibility to ensure that the school puts into practice the school mission and goals, and formulates school plans and conducts SSE in accordance with the guidelines issued by EMB. The school plans and reports are also made known to parents, teachers and members of the public.

(3) As regards the universities, they are all self-accrediting institutions. The respective governing ordinances of the universities empower them to confer degrees and other academic awards. Their award-bearing programmes are accredited and conferred by the universities, and are subject to their internal quality assurance mechanisms. The Administration does not plan to extend the above SSE to the universities.

End/Wednesday, June 11, 2003

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