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Despite the fact that the Block Grants from the University Grants Committee ("UGC") had been reduced by approximately $27 million or 5.8% as compared to the level in 2005/06, the Institute, through prudent financial management, managed to end the year with an unspent balance in Block Grants of $25.7 million. The Institute's General and Development Reserve Fund ("Reserve") has now reached $641 million, which will be able to provide the financial support for the repositioning and the re-titling of the Institute, as well as other new developments in the future.
Despite the uncertainties and increased workload brought on by rumours of merger, the Commission of Inquiry, and significant senior personnel changes, all staff members worked diligently throughout and had kept interruptions to the minimum. To this end, we are very grateful for the extraordinary contributions made by all staff members during this trying period.
With the recent addition of a number of renowned professionals in the education sector to the senior management team, the Institute is poised to move ahead with the next phase of its development.
In 2006/07, the Institute continued to improve and fine-tune its UGC-funded Bachelor of Arts (Hon) English Studies and Education, Bachelor of Education (Hon) (English) Language – Secondary, Bachelor of Education (Hon) (English) Language – Primary, and Bachelor of Education (Hon) (Chinese) Language – Secondary full-time programmes. A new part-time Bachelor of Education (Hon) (Professional and Vocation Education) programme was successfully validated and launched in 2007. In addition, collaborative programmes with The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Lingnan University, and The Chinese University of Hong Kong continue to be offered.
The total UGC-funded student number in Full-Time Equivalent ("FTE") terms studying at the Institute as at June 2007 had reduced by 4.6% from 2005/06 to about 4,204. Of these, about 2,652 FTE students were at degree level, 417 FTE students were at post-graduate level, and the rest were at sub-degree certificate level or studying in-service professional development programmes.
In addition to the UGC-funded programmes, the Institute runs a number of self-financing programmes. Among these, the Master of Education continue to be a very popular programme with enrollment of 233 and 146 for the first year and second year respectively, equivalent to 189.5 FTE students altogether. Another competitive new course is the Doctor of Education programme (launched in 2007/08) which had enrolled 19 students for its first cohort. The admission of around 40 Mainland students in these two higher degree programmes in 2007/08 was most encouraging. With the growing need for in-service teacher education on the Mainland, the Institute will see healthy growth in our educational services in this region.
On the sub-degree side, the most popular self-funded courses offered by the HKIEd School of Continuing and Professional Education Limited ("SCPE") were the Yi Jin programmes, with about 1,619 FTE students, the Pre-Associate Degree and Associate Degree programmes with about 277 FTE students, and the Centralised Scheme of Music Training which had taken about 99 FTE students.
In 2006/07, the SCPE was commissioned by the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research to run five groups of "Overseas Immersion Programme for English Teachers in Primary Schools" which take place at universities in Australia and Canada. The programme aims to provide participants with the opportunity to experience innovative learning and teaching methods, materials, curricula and activities in English as a second language (ESL) context and to reflect on their own teaching in Hong Kong. With this commission, the SCPE took a step further in its contribution to the education sector in Hong Kong.
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