Asked by : Hon Cyd HO
Replied by : SEM
Question :
The Administration has set up a Steering Committee on Parent Education and provided it with $50 million for enhancing parent education. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
Reply:
Madam President,
a. | At present, parent education and home-school co-operation are provided through a variety of channels, including government departments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and recurrent resources are provided for this purpose. The provision of an additional capital sum of $50 million announced by the Chief Executive in his 2000 Policy Address is to further strengthen efforts in this area. A Steering Committee on Parent Education has been set up to formulate an overall strategy on parent education, to consider how the earmarked $50 million may best be used, to co-ordinate implementation by various parties, and to monitor progress. Detailed terms of reference are at Annex A. The membership list of the Steering Committee is at Annex B. It includes representatives from relevant departments/NGOs as well as key stakeholders, such as schools, tertiary institutions, parents, employers and community members. The wide and balanced membership should help the Committee carry out its tasks effectively. |
b. | (b) The Steering Committee is now considering how best to use the earmarked capital sum of $50 million. Our plan is to seek funding approval from the Finance Committee by mid-2001. Since the provision is capital in nature, there is no specific time limit within which it must be exhausted. The preliminary thinking of the Steering Committee is to phase the expenditure over a period of two to three years. |
c. | (c) The Steering Committee will remain in place until its tasks set out in (a) above are completed. At present, we have no intention of turning it into a standing committee with recurrent funding. That said, as mentioned in (a) above, various departments/NGOs have already been provided with recurrent funding for organising parent education and home-school co-operation programmes. This will ensure that parents, schools, and parent-teacher associations will continue to have the necessary support after the capital sum of $50 million has been exhausted. |
Mr Matthew Cheung | Director of Education | Chairman |
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Mrs Patricia Chu | Deputy Director of Social Welfare | Representative of the Social Welfare Department |
Mrs Agnes Allcock | Deputy Director of Home Affairs | Representative of the Home Affairs Department |
Mrs Betty Ip | Assistant Director of Education | Representative of the Education Department |
Mr Peter Leung | Assistant Director of Education | Representative of the Education Department |
Miss Jenny Choi | Assistant Secretary for Education and Manpower | Representative of the Education and Manpower Bureau |
Dr Shirley Leung | Principal Medical and Health Officer, Department of Health | Representative of the Department of Health |
Ms Annie Lo | Principal Social Worker, Hong Kong Family Welfare Society | Representative of non-governmental organisations |
Ms Wendy Wu | Coordinator for Group and Community Service, the Salvation Army | Representative of non-governmental organisations |
Mr Tik Chi-yuen | Chairman, Committee on Home-School Co-operation | Parent representative |
Mr Leung Chung-wan | Advisor, Hong Kong East Parent Teacher Association Federation | Parent representative |
Mr Fung Ho-keung | President, the University of Hong Kong Graduates Association | Parent representative |
Mrs Julie Lee | Chairperson, Parent's Association of Pre-school Handicapped Children | Parent representative |
Mr Stephen Hui | Chairman, Hong Kong Subsidized Secondary Schools Council | School representative |
Mr Fung Man-ching | Chairman, Hong Kong Subsidized Primary Schools Council | School representative |
Mrs Laura Ling | Chairperson, Hong Kong Special Schools Council | School representative |
Mrs Chan Ngai Yuk-ying | Committee Member, Union of Government Primary School Headmasters and Headmistresses | School representative |
Mr Samuel Yung | Chairman, Outstanding Young Person's Association | Community member |
Mr Michael Tien | Director, The G2000 Group | Employer representative |
Dr Ho Sui-chu | Assistant Professor, Chinese University of Hong Kong | Representative of tertiary institutions |
Mrs Grace Wong | Senior Lecturer, Hong Kong Polytechnic University | epresentative of tertiary institutions |