For discussion
EC(96-97)66
on 26 February 1997
ITEM FOR ESTABLISHMENT SUBCOMMITTEE OF FINANCE COMMITTEE
HEAD 40 - EDUCATION DEPARTMENTSubhead 001 Salaries
Members are invited to recommend to Finance Committee the lowering of the salary bar of the Assistant Education Officer rank from Master Pay Scale 27 to Master Pay Scale 22 for officers appointed on or after 1 September 1997.
PROBLEM
We need an all-trained graduate teaching profession which is familiar with local curriculum development and students needs to improve the quality of secondary education.
PROPOSAL
2. The Director of Education (D of E) proposes to lower the salary bar of the Assistant Education Officer (AEO) rank from Master Pay Scale (MPS) 27 to MPS 22 for officers appointed on or after 1 September 1997. We will implement the proposal, if approved, in both government and aided sectors.
JUSTIFICATION
3. We have recently reviewed teacher education and qualifications for secondary schools in the light of the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications (ACTEQ). The Committee considers that to improve the quality of secondary education, we
need an all-trained teaching profession which is familiar with local curriculum development and students needs irrespective of whether these teachers are local or non-local graduates. To achieve this end, the D of E will implement the following new entry requirements for appointment of graduate teachers in government and aided secondary schools in two phases as recommended by the ACTEQ -
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(a)
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by 1 September 1997, we will require all new appointees holding non-local degrees to have a local Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) or equivalent; and
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(b)
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by 1 September 2004, we will also require all new appointees holding local degrees to have a local PGCE or equivalent. |
4. Given that we will continue to recruit a considerable number of untrained local graduates as secondary school teachers before the cut-off date of 1 September 2004, and to encourage these teachers to acquire the professional teacher training through part-time study of PGCE course as early as possible, ACTEQ recommend to lower the salary bar for all newly appointed graduate teachers in secondary schools from MPS 27 to MPS 22. This will reduce the time allowed for them to complete a PGCE course from a maximum of eleven years to six years, thus reducing the period of teaching whilst professionally untrained. In order to avoid being barred at MPS 22, these teachers must obtain professional teaching qualifications within the first six years of their service. That means they need to enrol in the two-year part-time PGCE course within four years of their appointment.
5. We do not anticipate any major problems implementing the proposal since statistics of serving AEOs show that those having more than six years of service but still lacking a PGCE only constitute less than 1.2% of the total strength of AEOs. This indicates that many of the untrained AEOs are able to acquire a PGCE within six years of service. We will implement the proposal, if approved, in both government and aided secondary schools. It will not affect serving AEOs.
6. We have also looked into the supply of part-time PGCE places to see if there are sufficient places to meet the increased demand arising from implementation of the proposal. Information from tertiary institutions indicates
that supply in the forthcoming years would be adequate. Assuming that all untrained teachers recruited after 1 September 1997 would enrol for the in-service part-time PGCE course within the first four years of their service, we estimate that there would be a demand for 3 100 part-time places (including demand from untrained teachers recruited before 1 September 1997 and untrained teachers in private schools) as against the projected total intake of 3 140 places planned by the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Baptist University and the Hong Kong Institute of Education from 1997-98 to 2000-01.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
7. The proposal to lower the salary bar for AEOs will not incur additional cost for Government.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
8. The AEO rank is the entry rank for the Education Officer (EO) grade. The existing rank structure and salary scales of the EO grade are as follows -
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Rank
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Salary Scale
(MPS)
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Assistant Education Officer
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17 - 33
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Education Officer
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34 - 39
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Senior Education Officer
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38 - 41
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Principal II
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40 - 44
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Principal I
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45 - 49 |
9. At present, degree holders without a PGCE enter the AEO rank at MPS 17. Until they obtain a PGCE, we do not allow these teachers to proceed beyond MPS 27 or consider promoting them. We will lift the salary bar and grant two additional increments to them when they have acquired the qualification. Degree holders with a PGCE enter at MPS 19 and will progress up the scale in the normal way.
10. In late 1994, the Government asked ACTEQ to advise it on, among other things, the need for any changes in policy or other matters related to teacher education and training. After the review, ACTEQ recommended, among other things, to lower the salary bar for graduate teachers in secondary schools (i.e. AEOs and Graduate Masters in government and aided secondary schools respectively) from MPS 27 to MPS 22 in order to encourage untrained teachers to acquire a PGCE as early as possible and to improve the quality of secondary education.
CIVIL SERVICE BRANCH COMMENTS
11. The Civil Service Branch supports the proposal which aims at encouraging secondary school teachers to undertake professional training early in their career. It considers that the proposed new salary bar is appropriate.
ADVICE OF THE STANDING COMMISSION ON CIVIL SERVICE SALARIES AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
12. The Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Services has supported the proposed lowering of the salary bar of the AEO rank from MPS 27 to MPS 22.
Education and Manpower Branch
February 1997
(E5631/WIN99)
Last Updated on 12 August 1999
