Voluntary Optimisation of Class Structure Scheme

Voluntary Optimisation of Class Structure Scheme is a scheme launched by the Education Bureau (EDB) to facilitate the implementation of the new senior secondary curriculum. It is launched by the department on 25 March 2010.

Background

The Education Bureau announced on 25 March 2010 that secondary schools would be invited to optimise their class structure through a voluntary class-size reduction scheme.

It invited schools operating five or more Secondary One (S1) classes to consider optimising their class structure by means of class reduction on a voluntary basis. The arrangement for class reduction starts from S1 and extends to other levels progressively year by year.

Original Scheme Measures

According to the Scheme, schools are allowed to keep their incumbent teachers on the approved teaching staff establishment in the school year preceding the commencement of S1 class reduction for five years, so that the schools concerned can better plan to adjust their staff strength through natural wastage and other means. During the five-year toleration period of surplus teachers, on top of the entitled Senior Secondary Curriculum Support Grant (SSCSG) that these schools will continue to receive, they are also provided with an additional cash provision (extra SSCSG) in the amount of $0.25 million per annum for appointing teachers, teaching assistants and / or procuring services to enhance the quality of education.

The measures later on have been enhanced. The enhanced measures for the Voluntary Optimisation of Class Structure Scheme were proposed in November 2010.

To facilitate sustainable development of secondary schools under the New Senior Secondary (NSS) academic structure, the Education Bureau (EDB) invited schools operating five or more Secondary One (S1) classes to consider optimising their class structure by means of class reduction on a voluntary basis in March this year. The arrangement for class reduction starts from S1 and extends to other levels progressively year by year.

Enhanced Measures

To encourage more schools operating five or more S1 classes to join the Scheme, we will increase the flexibility of the Scheme and introduce enhanced measures. The details are as follows:

1. Within the six years from the commencement of S1 class reduction, a school will be given a maximum quota of six teaching posts. During the six-year transitional period, the school may use the quota to absorb surplus teachers arising from the class reduction on a voluntary basis. If there are teachers leaving the school during that period, the school may use the quota flexibly to employ teachers to fill the vacancies, provided that the overall teaching staff establishment does not exceed the approved teaching staff establishment in the school year preceding the commencement of class reduction.

2. The teaching posts in the quota are within the approved establishment and can be used for calculating the number of senior teacher posts and the ratio of graduate teachers in the school.

3. After the six-year transitional period, the teaching post quota will be withdrawn gradually over three years at a rate of two posts per year.

4. The surplus teachers arising from the reduction of classes may basically be absorbed by the six teaching post quota and through natural wastage. If there are surplus teachers arising from class reduction not being absorbed by the aforementioned arrangement, they will be tolerated provided that staff-related resources are first offset (please refer to paragraphs 5 and 6 below for details). Generally, we expect that most schools can resolve their surplus teacher situation through natural wastage after deploying the quota of six teaching posts within nine years from the commencement of class reduction. However, if individual schools still have surplus teachers in the tenth year after the commencement of class reduction, the EDB will extend flexibly the toleration period of surplus teachers according to the actual needs of the school.

5. In line with the existing measures provided under the Scheme, schools will be disbursed with an extra SSCSG provision in the amount of $0.25 million per annum for a total of five years. The designated disbursement period will be the first five years from the commencement of S1 class reduction (please refer to paragraphs 7 and 8 below for details).

See Education Bureau Circular Memorandum No. 190/2010 ^[1]

Press Releases - Sustainable development of schools through voluntary optimisation of class structure.^[2]

Press Releases - Voluntary optimisation of class structure scheme receives overwhelming response ^[3]

Targeted Schools

Participation is entirely voluntary. All the government schools which are run by the government, also subsidized schools, the most common one run by charitable and religious organisations with government funding, can also participate in the scheme.

Participants

After the application deadline (25 February 2011), there were a total of 202 schools have submitted their applications to join the scheme.

Timeline

March 25, 2010

Announcement of the first phase of Voluntary Optimization of Class Structure Scheme encourage secondary schools with more than five classes at Secondary 1 level to reduce by one class.

October 16, 2010

Announcement of postponing the deadline of application for the Voluntary Optimization of Class Structure Scheme from the end of November 2010 to the end of February 2011.^[4]

April 11, 2010

Seven secondary schools in Tai Po agree to join the Voluntary Optimization of Class Structure Scheme together. Also known as 大埔率先全區減班避殺校 ^[5]

January 12, 2011

14 secondary schools in Northern District declared to join the Voluntary Optimization of Class Structure Scheme ^[6]

February 2, 2011

19 secondary schools in Tuen Mun District declare to join the Voluntary Optimization of Class Structure Scheme ^[7]

February 25, 2011

King's College (Hong Kong) joined the Voluntary Optimization of Class Structure Scheme ^[8]

March 30, 2011

Wah Yan College, Kowloon declared to withdraw from the Voluntary Optimization of Class Structure Scheme ^[9] which the school had once decided to join at the beginning.

References