The Quality Education Fund will introduce new priority themes for application on April 1 to promote innovative projects and enhance education quality.

The new priority themes are creative arts and culture education, green campus, extended education programmes for students with special educational needs, and students' healthy lifestyle and positive development. Seven existing themes will continue to be open for application.

Apart from the priority themes, applicants can apply to undertake other innovative projects that meet schools' needs or enhance education quality.

With effect from April 1, the number of applications that all independent faculties/departments/centres of tertiary institutions can make in each academic year is increased from two to three.

The increase will enhance their collaboration with pre-primary, primary and secondary education sectors. The existing quota of two applications for other applicants will remain unchanged.

The fund processed about 600 applications in the 2008-09 school year; about half of them were approved, involving a total grant amounting to around $107.1 million. The grants approved in this school year range from about $10,000 to $6,788,800.