For discussion FCR(95-96)62
on 27 October 1995

ITEM FOR FINANCE COMMITTEE

HEAD 40 - EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
Subhead 700 General other non-recurrent

Members are invited to approve a commitment of $54.4 million for implementing Phase IV of the Incentive Award Scheme for Chinese textbooks in selected subjects for secondary schools.

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Problem
Proposal
Justification
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Maximum Award for Two Sets of Books under the Fourth Phase of the Incentive Award Scheme
Chinese textbooks/reference materials printed under the first phase
Chinese textbooks/reference materials printed under the second phase
Chinese textbooks/reference materials printed under the third phase

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Problem

There are insufficient Chinese textbooks/reference materials in the market to support the increasing use of Chinese as the medium of instruction in secondary schools.

Proposal

2. In view of the success of the first three phases of the Incentive Award Scheme (the Scheme) for Chinese textbooks and having considered the recommendations of the Chinese Textbooks Committee (CTC), the Director of Education (D of E) proposes that a fourth phase of the Scheme be introduced to encourage publishers to produce good quality Chinese textbooks/reference materials in a variety of subjects to support the use of Chinese as the medium of instruction in secondary schools.

Justification

3. The Government has been encouraging schools to use Chinese as the medium of instruction. In December 1994, the CTC reviewed the demand for Chinese textbooks/reference materials at secondary and sixth-form levels through a survey on the provision and quality of Chinese textbooks. The survey revealed that there was a great demand for Chinese textbooks for a number of selected subjects at all secondary levels. After consultation with the Hong Kong Examinations Authority and the Curriculum Development Institute of the Education Department, the CTC proposed that the following 16 subjects at secondary and sixth-form levels are in need of good quality Chinese textbooks -

4. The CTC has adopted the following criteria in selecting the above subjects for inclusion in the Scheme -

1. subjects for which no Chinese textbooks are available in the market will be given the highest priority;
2. subjects which are taken in Chinese in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination or the Advanced Level Examination, particularly those subjects having a larger number of candidates sitting for the examinations, will also be given high priority;
3. subjects which were included in previous phases of the Scheme will not be included in the current Scheme unless their syllabuses have been revised. Hence, three subjects, namely Economics and Public Affairs, Government and Public Affairs and Social Studies for S4-5, are recommended for inclusion since their syllabuses have been recently revised;
4. subjects which would undergo syllabus revision in the next two or three years will not be included; and
5. for an ASL subject the syllabus content of which is a subset of that same subject at AL, only the subject at AL will be included in this Scheme.

5. The objective of the Scheme is to encourage publishers to provide a variety of good quality secondary school textbooks/reference materials¹ in Chinese for students at different levels in order to provide schools with a reasonable degree of choice. Thus, under the Scheme, D of E will provide financial assistance for publishers to produce at least two sets² of good quality Chinese textbooks/reference materials for each recommended subject.

6. Having consulted the publishers’ associations, the CTC estimates the pre-printing production cost of the books to be $2,535 and $3,208 per page for two and four-colour printing respectively. The pre-printing production cost includes the remuneration for authors who are specialists in the relevant subject areas, and the cost for type-setting, illustrations and copyright fees for photographs etc. Printing and production cost are excluded. Having consulted the Printing Department and the Information Services Department, D of E considers the estimated pre-printing cost to be fair and reasonable. Based on this and the estimated number of pages required to cover the syllabus of each of the 16 subjects, we accept the CTC recommendation that the maximum award for each of the subjects should be as follows -

The detailed calculation of the maximum award for two sets of books is at Enclosure 1.

7. In keeping with the practice in the second and third phases of the Scheme, the proposed maximum award represents about two-thirds of the pre-printing production cost of the textbooks for S1-5 levels. For AL and ASL, the maximum award would cover 100% of the production cost of the manuscript for printing in view of the smaller market for sixth form reference books.

8. In administering the Scheme, D of E will apply rules similar to those adopted in previous phases of the Scheme. For example, if more than two publishers are willing to publish Chinese textbooks/reference materials for a given subject, the maximum award for that particular subject would be shared among themselves. If the number of pages of a book produced for a particular subject falls short of the estimated number of pages, the award would be proportionately reduced. For books exceeding the estimated number of pages, the publishers will bear the excess cost.

9. D of E will adopt similar arrangements in ensuring that the award is given only for books of good quality. In line with the existing practice of reviewing procedures for the publication of recommended booklist for S1-5, books for S1-5 under the Scheme will be reviewed by the Textbooks Reviewing Panels of the Education Department which comprise officers from the Curriculum Development Institute and practising teachers on a voluntary basis. As for AL and ASL subjects, we shall hire independent reviewers to assess the suitability of these books. The reviewing panel for each subject will consist of an experienced sixth form teacher and a lecturer of a tertiary institution. The recommended rate of remuneration for these reviewers is $317 for every 15 pages reviewed (which can be completed in an hour on average). This rate of remuneration is comparable to that offered to lecturers in the School of Professional and Continuing Education of the University of Hong Kong. Allowing for contingencies (which might arise from the recruitment of additional reviewers in case of differences of assessment or additional reviewing required in case more than two publishers participate in the Scheme), we estimate that a total of $700,000 will be required for this purpose, broken down as follows -

Remuneration for Independent Reviewers

10. Each participating publisher will be required to deposit with the Government a sum of $50,000 in respect of each set of books to be produced and to observe a fixed timetable for the publication of the books. We will refund the deposit to the publisher if he submits the set of books on time to the Education Department for review. If the set of books is subsequently assessed to be of an acceptable standard and the publisher has produced at least 500 copies for sale, the publisher will be eligible for the incentive award.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

11. D of E estimates the total cost of the Scheme to be $54.4 million, comprising $53.7 million for the incentive award to the publishers and $700,000 for remuneration of the independent reviewers. The project has no recurrent financial implications.

12. We aim to have the Chinese textbooks/reference materials available for use by students in the 1998-99 academic year. D of E estimates the cashflow for the project to be as follows -

13. If Members approve the proposal, we shall include sufficient provision in the 1996-97 draft Estimates and in future Estimates for the purpose.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

14. The Governor appointed the CTC in May 1986 and its terms of reference were revised in July 1994 as follows -

1. to review the demand for Chinese textbooks and reference books, including textbooks for the teaching of the Chinese Language, in the light of the Government’s policy to encourage schools to use Chinese as the medium of instruction;
2. to ensure the availability of a variety of good secondary school textbooks and reference books written in Chinese in different subjects at different levels on the market to meet the needs of schools; and
3. to offer advice on measures for enhancing proficiency in Chinese Language from the perspective of textbooks and reference books including the range of publications which should be produced, and on relevant research projects which may be conducted.

15. On the recommendation of the CTC, we introduced three phases of an Incentive Award Scheme which offered financial and editorial assistance to publishers willing to publish S1-5 Chinese textbooks for selected subjects in grammar, prevocational and technical schools and Chinese reference books for selected AL subjects for sixth form education. Members approved a total commitment of $17.8 million for these three phases of the Scheme which were completed successfully. A list of the textbooks/reference materials produced under these three phases by subject is at Enclosure 2. The financial assistance awarded to publishers under these three phases of the Scheme amounted to $15.3 million.

Education and Manpower Branch
October 1995

¹ No textbooks are formally recommended for sixth form education. Schools are free to select their own reference books.
²A set comprises a number of books covering the syllabus of the recommended subject.
³ Subjects marked with an asterisk are those recommended for four-colour printing while two-color printing will be used for other subjects. Because of the substantial cost difference between four-colour and two-colour printing, the Scheme would sponsor four-colour printing only for those subjects which contain many illustrations and charts.

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Enclosure 1 to FCR(95-96)62

Maximum Award for Two Sets of Books under the Fourth Phase of the Incentive Award Scheme

# a = pre-printing production cost per page
b = number of pages estimated
c = maximum fraction of subsidy
d = number of sets
* Four-colour printing recommended

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Enclosure 2 to FCR(95-96)62

Chinese textbooks/reference materials printed under the first phase

Chinese textbooks/reference materials printed under the second phase

Chinese textbooks/reference materials printed under the third phase