The Task Force on Professional Development of Teachers today (July 6) launched a two-month consultation to solicit views from stakeholders on its preliminary recommendations.
 
     The Chairperson of the Task Force, Dr Carrie Willis, said, "As our society is changing rapidly, the teaching profession must keep pace with the times and strive for continuous development so that we can better prepare our students for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. An effective and strategic approach to supporting and promoting teachers' continuing professional development is thus of paramount importance.
 
     "Set up in November 2017, the Task Force has studied the feasible options for establishing a professional ladder for teachers; the ranking arrangement of school management in primary, secondary and special schools; and the timetable for an all-graduate teaching force. The aims of the Task Force are to put forward recommendations from different perspectives to further promote the culture of continuing professional development among the teaching profession; accord due recognition to, and raise the professional status of teachers; retain and attract talents into the profession; and ultimately enhance the professional standards of teachers and the quality of learning and teaching."
 
     The Task Force has proposed a total of 20 preliminary recommendations, of which the major ones are: to build on the present foundation to establish a Professional Ladder for Teachers, which could be extensively applicable to the entire teaching profession to enhance teachers’ professional growth and raise teachers' professional status, and promote the Professional Ladder for Teachers at all levels including the individual, school and system levels; establish systematic, multilevel and diversified commendation schemes for teachers to recognise their contributions; review the manpower arrangement at the middle-management level, ranking or salary arrangements for principals and vice-principals, etc, to enhance the school management ranking and deployment arrangements, thereby advancing the career prospects of teachers; and implement the policy for an all-graduate teaching force as soon as practicable to raise the professional status of teachers.
 
     The Consultation Document of the Task Force on Professional Development of Teachers has been uploaded to the EDB's website (www.edb.gov.hk/en/about-edb/press/consultation/index.html). Stakeholders are invited to send their views and suggestions to the Task Force by post (Professional Development and Training Division, Education Bureau, Room 1110, 11/F, Wu Chung House, 213 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong), by fax (3798 0105) or by email (tftpd@edb.gov.hk) on or before September 7, 2018.
 
     In addition, the Task Force will hold three identical briefing-cum-consultation sessions during the consultation period to directly listen to the views of the stakeholders. Details are as follows:
 
Session A
Date: July 14 (Saturday)
Time: 9.30am to 11am
Venue: Sham Shui Po Government Primary School, 101 Sham Mong Road, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon
 
Session B
Date: July 16 (Monday)
Time: 2.30pm to 4pm
Venue: Sham Shui Po Government Primary School, 101 Sham Mong Road, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon.
 
Session C
Date: July 17 (Tuesday)
Time: 6pm to 7.30pm
Venue: Room WP01, West Block, EDB Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre, 19 Suffolk Road, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon.
 
     Those who would like to attend the briefing cum consultation sessions are advised to reserve seats at the EDB's website (www.edb.gov.hk/en/teacher/consultation-tftpd/index.html) on or before July 12. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
     Following the Chief Executive's 2017 Policy Address, various Task Forces were set up to review certain areas of education policy. The Task Force on Professional Development of Teachers was one of them. Over the past seven months, the Task Force has studied the issues related to the enhancement of professional development of teachers and arranged focus group meetings with various stakeholders, including school sponsoring bodies and representatives from primary, secondary and special schools, as well as teacher groups and parent groups, to listen to their views.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (July 6) that the official foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong amounted to US$431.9 billion as at the end of June 2018 (end-May 2018: US$432.2 billion) (Annex).
 
     Including unsettled foreign exchange contracts, the foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong at the end of June 2018 amounted to US$424.3 billion (end-May 2018: US$424.6 billion).
 
     The total foreign currency reserve assets of US$431.9 billion represent about seven times the currency in circulation or 46% of Hong Kong dollar M3.

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     At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund's data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund's Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA's policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of July 2018, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
 

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (July 6) reported the latest number of cases of dengue fever (DF), and again urged the public to maintain strict environmental hygiene, mosquito control and personal protective measures both locally and during travel.
 
     From June 29 to July 5, the CHP recorded five confirmed DF cases. The patients had been to Cambodia (two cases), Thailand (two cases) and Malaysia (one case) during the incubation period.
 
     As of yesterday (July 5), 44 cases had been confirmed this year, all of which were imported cases. The cases were mainly imported from Thailand (19), the Philippines (eight) and Cambodia (six).
 
    DF remains endemic in some areas in Asia and overseas. The latest figures for 2018 reveal that 25 408 cases have been recorded in Thailand, 1 414 in Singapore (since December 31, 2017) and 61 in Japan. One local case has been recorded to date in Taiwan in 2018. In the Americas, the latest figures indicate that 126 024 and 12 921 cases have been filed in Brazil and Mexico respectively in 2018.
 
     The public should take heed of the following advice on mosquito control:
 

• Thoroughly check all gully traps, roof gutters, surface channels and drains to prevent blockage;
• Scrub and clean drains and surface channels with an alkaline detergent compound at least once a week to remove any deposited mosquito eggs;
• Properly dispose of refuse, such as soft drink cans, empty bottles and boxes, in covered litter containers;
• Completely change the water of flowers and plants at least once a week. The use of saucers should be avoided if possible;
• Level irregular ground surfaces before the rainy season;
• Avoid staying in shrubby areas; and
• Take personal protective measures such as wearing light-coloured long-sleeved clothes and trousers and apply insect repellent containing DEET to clothing or uncovered areas of the body when doing outdoor activities.
   

     To reduce the risk of infections spread by mosquitoes, apart from general measures, travellers returning from affected areas should apply insect repellent for 14 days (DF) or at least 21 days (Zika virus infection) upon arrival in Hong Kong. If feeling unwell, seek medical advice promptly and provide travel details to the doctor. DEET-containing insect repellents are effective and the public should take heed of the tips below:
 

• Read the label instructions carefully first;
• Apply right before entering an area with risk of mosquito bites;
• Apply on exposed skin and clothing;
• Use DEET of up to 30 per cent for pregnant women and up to 10 per cent for children*;
• Apply sunscreen first, then insect repellent; and
• Re-apply only when needed and follow the instructions.

* For children who travel to countries or areas where mosquito-borne diseases are endemic or epidemic and where exposure is likely, those aged 2 months or above can use DEET-containing insect repellents with a DEET concentration of up to 30 per cent.

     The public may refer to the CHP's tips for using insect repellents for details.

The following is issued on behalf of the Chief Executive's Award for Teaching Excellence Steering Committee:
 
     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (July 6) presented the Award for Teaching Excellence to 12 teachers at the Award Presentation Ceremony of the Chief Executive's Award for Teaching Excellence (CEATE) (2017/2018) held at the Central Government Offices. The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, presented the Certificate of Merit to 26 teachers.
      
     Speaking at the ceremony, the Chairman of the CEATE Steering Committee, Mr Duffy Wong, said, "The awarded teachers are very innovative and they have made strenuous efforts in designing various learning activities to enrich students' learning experience, which successfully stimulated their motivation to learn and enhanced learning and teaching efficiency. The awardees deserve commendation for their exemplary teaching practices."
      
     Mr Wong said that the awarded teachers would join the Chief Executive's Award for Teaching Excellence Teachers' Association to move to the next phase of development. He said he believed that they would meet more dedicated teachers through this platform for exchanges and support. Their sharing of exemplary teaching practices would inspire co-workers in the education sector to further raise the standards of learning and teaching.
      
     This year's CEATE covered three themes, namely "Kindergarten Education", "Physical Education Key Learning Area" and "Technology Education Key Learning Area". Assessment of nominations for the CEATE focused on four domains of assessment, namely professional competence, student development, professionalism and commitment to the community, and school development. A total of 93 nominations were received. Five nominations (comprising 12 teachers) were presented with the Award for Teaching Excellence while 12 nominations (comprising 26 teachers) were presented with the Certificate of Merit. The assessment results are available on the CEATE website (www.ate.gov.hk).

     Officiating guests at today's ceremony also included the Permanent Secretary for Education, Mrs Ingrid Yeung; the Chairman of the Quality Education Fund Steering Committee, Dr Gordon Tsui; the Chairman of the Education Commission, Mr Tim Lui; the Chairman of the Committee on Professional Development of Teachers and Principals and Chairman of the High-level Advisory Panel of CEATE (2017/2018), Dr Carrie Willis; the Chairman of the Curriculum Development Council, Professor Tam Kar-yan; the Chairman of the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, Mr Rock Chen; and the Chairman of the CEATE Assessment Working Group (2017/2018), Professor Horace Ip.
      
     Sharing activities on excellent teaching practices of the CEATE (2017/2018) will be rolled out in the coming school year. Details will be announced on the CEATE website shortly.
      
     Nominations for the CEATE (2018/2019) will be accepted from July 9 to October 5. Its themes will cover "English Language Education Key Learning Area", "General Studies" and "Personal, Social and Humanities Education Key Learning Area". Details will be uploaded to the CEATE website on July 9.

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, July 6, 2018 is 102.4 (same as yesterday's index).