Secretary for Education & Manpower Professor Arthur Li says an agreement on education funding for the coming financial year has been reached with the Financial Secretary.

Speaking on three radio talk shows today, Professor Li said the absolute amount will be more than this year's allocation. However, the money available may not be enough to cover the expected increase in education expenditure.

He said discussion on education budget cuts for 2005-08 is continuing and no final decision has been made. He hopes the spending cuts will not affect education quality.

Upset students should keep calm

Professor Li asked students threatening to boycott classes to stay calm. He will explain the latest situation to student representatives tomorrow and garner their views.

Noting that universities are allowed to raise funds and make their own decisions in resource deployment, Professor Li said flexibility in adjusting university funding is greater than primary and secondary schools.

In the coming financial year, there will be a 10% cut in university funding - about $1.1 billion.

$1 billion matching fund set up

To strengthen the institutions' fundraising capabilities, a $1 billion matching fund has been set up. It will be used to match private donations the schools raise. Each university is also given $5 million to establish a dedicated office to deal with its own fundraising matters.

Professor Li rejected claims he was against Henry Tang in the budget cut issue. He said officials having different views is very normal, and he will try to help the Financial Secretary tackle the deficit problem.

Noting that the Government is trying to achieve a balance between solving deficit problem and maintaining education quality, he said his bureau will explore new ways to improve education quality.