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The following is issued on behalf of the Quality Education Fund Steering Committee:
The Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, the Permanent Secretary for Education and Trustee of the Quality Education Fund (QEF), Mr Raymond Wong, and the Chairman of the QEF Steering Committee, Mr Pang Yiu-kai, today (May 9) officiated at the Opening Ceremony of the QEF Projects Exposition 2008 and Prize Presentation Ceremony.
It is the 10th anniversary of the Quality Education Fund. The exposition showcases QEF projects with enhanced teaching effectiveness and shares with the education sector and the public the fruitful outcomes of the Fund in the past 10 years and latest development in education in Hong Kong.
To commend outstanding projects funded since 1998, the Fund organised the QEF Outstanding Project Awards early this year. Twenty projects received the outstanding project award and another 101 projects received a certificate of merit. In addition to awardees of the QEF Outstanding Project Awards, winners of the QEF Slogan Competition and the Mascot Design Competition were also presented with prizes today.
Other officiating guests included former chairmen of the QEF Steering Committee, Mr Irving Koo and Mr Tai Hay-lap.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr Raymond Wong noted that the establishment of the QEF was an important investment in education in the early years of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
"In the past 10 years, more than 90% of primary and secondary schools received grants from QEF to conduct various types of innovative projects to enhance the quality of education."
"The QEF recently commissioned a tertiary institution to conduct a study on the impact of the fund on education in Hong Kong in the past 10 years," he said. "Initial findings of the study showed that with the support of QEF, many schools used their resources more effectively and with flexibility. QEF has also helped schools develop into a learning organisation.
"Teachers, after implementing QEF projects, are more prepared to explore new teaching methods and more receptive to new ideas. They also put more emphasis on peer collaboration in order to achieve their mission."
The Chairman of the QEF Steering Committee, Mr Pang Yiu-kai, said, "Since its establishment, the QEF has received more than 17,000 applications of which more than 7,000 were approved, with grants amounting to a total of about $3.5 billion. On top of disbursing grants, the QEF also strives to disseminate worthwhile experiences of QEF projects to various stakeholders of the education sector and the public."
Looking ahead, the QEF will strengthen professional collaboration with publishers on research and development of project deliverables for more effective dissemination of teaching resources under the QEF projects.
The QEF Projects Exposition 2008, at Hall 5B of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, is open to the public for three consecutive days starting today. The opening hours for tomorrow (May 10) are 10am to 7pm and Sunday (May 11) 10am to 6pm. Admission is free.
There are four exhibition zones - Pre-primary Education, Effective Learning, Information Technology in Education and All-round Education. More than 80 exhibitors will display their projects in more than 120 booths. About 80 selected deliverables of QEF projects will be displayed and put on sale at the QEF Host Booth. In addition, there are student performances, seminars and teaching demonstrations.
Ends/Friday, May 9, 2008
Issued at HKT 14:44
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