Education expenditures rise from $35M to $95M in 5 years

The Education Bureau's expenditure on national education for primary and secondary schools rose from $35.3 million in 2007-08 to an estimate of $95.7 million in 2011-12.

Of the $95.7 million, about $7.6 million was used for teachers' professional development, $30.1 million for developing learning and teaching resources, and $58 million for organising cross-boundary exchange and learning activities for students and teachers, Secretary for Education Michael Suen today told lawmakers .
 
Mr Suen said national education activities aim to help students gain a comprehensive understanding of the motherland from different perspectives and provide students with holistic learning experiences.
 
"For example, the objective of learning and exchange activities in the Mainland is to provide opportunities for students to understand the national situation through first-hand experience in four dimensions, namely, natural resources, humanities, history and contemporary development."
 
The bureau's spending on Mainland exchange activities, including subsidies for primary and secondary schools organising such activities, increased from $12 million in 2008-09 to an estimated $58 million in 2011-12, with the number of participating students expected to go up from 10,340 to 42,700 over the same period.