Revamp of Committee on Self-financing Post-secondary Education announced

     The Government today (October 22) announced the new composition and functions of the Committee on Self-financing Post-secondary Education (CSPE) with effect from November 1, 2019.
      
     The revamp is to implement the recommendation in the review report of the Task Force on Review of Self-financing Post-secondary Education (dated December 2018) that the CSPE should provide strategic and policy advice on the development of the self-financing sector, including advice on measures to promote, facilitate and coordinate such development in terms of scope of operation, quality and governance.
      
     The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, said, "We are very pleased that Professor Anthony Cheung will continue to lead the CSPE. The new members include not only members of the local post-secondary and other sectors, but also, for the first time, two non-local experts."
      
     The main functions of the revamped CSPE are as follows:

(a) fostering strategic coordination of self-financing post-secondary institutions, in respect of their positioning and the offering of programmes;

(b) providing better support for the self-financing sector by advising on the parameters and operation of prevailing and any further support measures;

(c) reforming the overall regulatory regime for the self-financing sector, particularly by offering views on proposed legislative amendments to the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap 320); and

(d) enhancing the quality of the self-financing post-secondary sector, including ways to enhance the accreditation standards and practices for the self-financing sector.
      
     To enable the CSPE to carry out its duties more effectively, three sub-committees will be set up under the CSPE to specialise in support measures, quality assurance, and regulation and coordination respectively.
      
     Mr Yeung said, "It is our policy to continue to promote the parallel development of the publicly-funded sector and quality self-financing sector in higher education, in order to better serve community needs. I am confident that the revamped CSPE, under Professor Cheung’s leadership, will actively engage stakeholders and offer wise counsel to the Government on key issues relating to the self-financing post-secondary education sector in a bid to foster its healthy and sustainable development and its ability to serve future community needs."
      
     The revised terms of reference and membership of the CSPE are in the Annex.
      
     Mr Yeung added, "As published in the Chief Executive's 2019 Policy Address Supplement, we will launch a new Enhancement and Start-up Grant Scheme for Self-financing Post-secondary Education to provide financial support for self-financing institutions interested in offering sub-degree or undergraduate programmes that meet market needs but require high start-up costs, so as to help the institutions launch such programmes. This will step up support for self-financing institutions to develop their distinct character and niche areas, and to launch quality programmes that will better respond to community needs. We will consult the CSPE on the details of the proposed scheme."
      
     The CSPE was first established in April 2012 to advise the Government on the development of the self-financing post-secondary education sector from macro and strategic perspectives. The CSPE serves as a platform for discussing issues of common interest to the self-financing post-secondary sector, as well as for promoting quality and good practices in the sector.