Education sector calls for more funds
Despite the poor economy, the education sector is urging the government not to reduce funding a week ahead of the budget.
Calling for extra funding to introduce small-class teaching in the secondary sector, Hong Kong Association of Heads of Secondary Schools chairman Michael Wong Wai-yu said the move could enhance the quality of teaching and create more jobs for teachers.
'Small-class teaching should be adopted in places which suffer from a sharp drop in student population,' he said.
Aided Primary School Heads' Council chairman Alex Cheung Chi-hung said he had written a letter to Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah and asked for an increase in subsidies to carry out measures aimed at lessening the heavy burden on teachers.
'Instead of dishing out sweeteners like shopping vouchers, Mr Tsang should put more resources into developing school projects,' he said. 'With the reduction of the Additional Time-limited Capacity Enhancement Grant from HK$1 million to HK$530,000 last year, we were forced to lay off support teachers, teaching assistants and technical support staff, which severely increased the workload of teachers.'
Education lawmaker and Professional Teachers' Union president Cheung Man-kwong said the government should inject more resources into the kindergarten sector so that it could employ qualified teachers on reasonable salary terms.
Roland Chin Tai-hong, vice-president for academic affairs at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said universities would need to employ a lot of people for the launch of the four-year undergraduate programme in 2012.
University of Science and Technology president Paul Chu Ching-wu hoped the government would set aside more resources for research.
Veronica Tam Sin-ping, director of student services at Lingnan University, hoped the government would offer ways to help its graduates find jobs in the upcoming budget.
A Chinese University of Hong Kong spokesperson said they hoped there would be additional internship placements for graduates.
With the latest unemployment rate hovering at 4.6 per cent, it is expected that the financial secretary will put job creation at the top of his priority list in the upcoming budget.
A government spokesman said it had been working on proposals to provide more internship places.
'The government would work closely with tertiary institutions, chambers of commerce and the Hong Kong Chinese Enterprises Association on proposals to provide more internship places for university graduates both locally and on the mainland,' he said.
