The Government has called on legislators to support its measures to enhance education quality and address resource issues, so they can be implemented for the coming school year.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam outlined the measures at her first Legislative Council question-and-answer session today.
They cover post-secondary, secondary, primary and kindergarten education.
The measures include providing a non-means-tested annual subsidy of $30,000 for eligible full-time self-financing undergraduate students, and a non-means-tested annual subsidy of $5,000 for students pursuing eligible undergraduate programmes on the Mainland.
Other highlights are increasing the teacher-to-class ratio for public primary and secondary schools, including special schools, which will create more than 2,300 teaching posts; and, extending the two-year tide-over grant for kindergartens for three more years.
Briefing the media, Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung said the Chief Executive has met with different stakeholders and the new measures were drawn up with the collective wisdom of the education sector.
"We aim to seek funding approval from the Finance Committee before the close of the current Legislative Council session. Subject to funding approval, the initiatives, which generally represent the consensus among stakeholders on priority areas, could be implemented immediately in the 2017-18 academic year."
Mr Yeung said the measures are just the first step in the Government's education improvement initiative.
He added the Government will work with the education sector to consider further action in areas like teacher development, curriculums, assessment systems, vocational and professional education, post-secondary education, and home-school co-operation.
