Officials breached policy to let college heads pay no rent
Two senior officials were at fault for allowing the heads of the seven tertiary institutions to live rent-free, the report said.
The two were identified as the Secretary for Education and Manpower and the University Grants Committee secretary-general.
The posts were filled by Joseph Wong Wing-ping and Nigel French, although the committee did not name them.
The report said the two had failed to explain the Government's subvention policy to the University Grants Committee-funded institutions.
'The institutions were led to enter into contracts with heads of institutions on rent-free accommodation without knowing that the Government's subvention policy had been breached,' the report concluded.
The head of a University Grants Committee-funded institution earns about as much as a policy secretary, $181,050 a month. If the college heads had contributed the standard 7.5 per cent of their salaries they would have had to pay rent of $13,578.
The committee said it was 'astonished' the grants committee's secretary-general was in 'direct contradiction' with Secretary for Treasury Kwong Ki-chi.
Mr French has said the college heads' packages should be the same as their civil service counterparts, while Mr Kwong has said the heads should pay rent.
The committee recommended the seven heads be given the choice of either opting for the civil service's home-financing scheme or paying 7.5 per cent of their salaries as rent for official quarters.
The Education and Manpower Bureau has hinted that heads of institutions signing new contracts will have to pay rent.
Mr French declined to comment, saying he had not read the report, while Mr Wong was not available.
