Hong Kong

For the 2000-2001 fiscal year, Hong Kong's government expenditure on education was approximately HK$54.4 billion (US$7 billion). This total was 22.3 percent of the total government expenditure, an increase over previous annual budgets. The total was divided fairly evenly among primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. The agency responsible for education throughout Hong Kong is the Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB). The Education Commission (EC), however, carries out much of the daily planning, developing, and monitoring of all the schools. The EC is composed of 19 members, most of whom are appointed from the field of education, not government officials.

The UGC oversees the distribution of government money to tertiary institutions. Much of this money is allocated as a triennial block grant to each of the eight public funded institutions, and these institutions determine how to spend the money to provide the best educational services for their students. The UGC committee is made up of members appointed by Hong Kong's chief executive from outside the government, including representatives from the business and academic communities. Their mission is two-fold: one is to protect the academic freedom and independence of the institutions that they fund, and the other is ensure that the government's money is used effectively for the benefit of the people.

High quality research in Hong Kong universities is a relatively new activity. Until the mid-1990s, the government was mainly concerned with expanding educational opportunities. Since that time, however, Hong Kong educators have worked toward international respectability in research. The government's Research Grants Council (RGC), a subsidiary of the UGC, has four subject area panels that evaluate research proposals and recommend grants for research to academic staff members at UGC funded institutions. The subject areas are physical sciences, engineering, biology and medicine, and humanities and social sciences. Members of the panels are independent of government. Most are academics from Hong Kong and overseas institutions, while some are from nonacademic sectors of Hong Kong.

The VTC is made up of 22 members, 4 of whom come from government. The remaining are appointed from industry, business, and universities. VTC's main function is to advise government on the manpower requirements in Hong Kong, especially as it pertains to future development. Through its 20 Training Boards—covering areas such as accounting, banking and finance, hotel, catering and tourism, maritime services, textile and clothing, apprenticeship and trade testing, and disability training—the VTC offers training and skill upgrading to tens of thousands of workers annually. VTC also operates two technical colleges that offer diploma and higher certificate courses.