The Capacity Enhancement Grant, which aims to reduce teacher workload and enhance education quality, will run another three years from the coming school year, the Education & Manpower Bureau says.

The move comes as 99% of some 1,200 schools taking part in a three-year review said the grant has had a positive impact on students.

Principal Assistant Secretary for Education & Manpower Betty Ip said the review affirmed that the goal of introducing the grant has been achieved, and its continued provision has shown the Government's commitment to quality education. It will help schools map out their future development plan in the best interests of teachers and students.

"The grant, introduced in the 2000-01 school year, was considered to have helped raise students' learning interests especially in language subjects, improve performance of students, academically low achievers in particular, and encourage teachers and students to apply information technology in teaching and learning," she said.

Grant enhances school management

Ms Ip continued: "More than 90% of schools considered that the grant had an impact on schools' management. They said the grant helped raise schools' ability in managing resources and enhance management culture."

In the review, the majority of teachers agreed the grant helped their teaching work, provided schools with additional resources for curriculum development, relieved their non-teaching duties, improved teaching quality and helped them cope with students of diverse abilities and with special learning needs.

Last year, more than 60% of teachers felt their workload had reduced thanks to the grant.

$2b offered in last three years

The total provision of the grant between 2000-01 and 2003-04 has amounted to $2.09 billion. In 2003-04, a 24-class primary school is entitled to about $500,000 per year and a 24-class secondary school, about $420,000.

On the deployment pattern, Mrs Ip said about one-fifth of the grant expenditure was deployed separately for curriculum development and for organising activities to enhance students' language proficiency, about one-sixth for relieving teachers' non-teaching workload, and another sixth in activities aiming at helping teachers cope with the diverse and special learning needs of students.

For the review's executive summary, click here.