Voluntary Optimisation of Class Structure Scheme

The Education Bureau announced on 25 March 2010 that secondary schools would be invited to optimise their class structure through a voluntary class-size reduction scheme.

It invited schools operating five or more Secondary One (S1) classes to consider optimising their class structure by means of class reduction on a voluntary basis. The arrangement for class reduction starts from S1 and extends to other levels progressively year by year.

According to the Scheme, schools are allowed to keep their incumbent teachers on the approved teaching staff establishment in the school year preceding the commencement of S1 class reduction for five years, so that the schools concerned can better plan to adjust their staff strength through natural wastage and other means. During the five-year toleration period of surplus teachers, on top of the entitled Senior Secondary Curriculum Support Grant (SSCSG) that these schools will continue to receive, they are also provided with an additional cash provision (extra SSCSG) in the amount of $0.25 million per annum for appointing teachers, teaching assistants and / or procuring services to enhance the quality of education.

The measures later on have been enhanced. The enhanced measures for the Voluntary Optimisation of Class Structure Scheme were proposed in November 2010.

To facilitate sustainable development of secondary schools under the New Senior Secondary (NSS) academic structure, the Education Bureau (EDB) invited schools operating five or more Secondary One (S1) classes to consider optimising their class structure by means of class reduction on a voluntary basis in March this year. The arrangement for class reduction starts from S1 and extends to other levels progressively year by year.

In 2010, the EDB provided enhanced measures to encourage more schools to join the scheme.^[1][2][3]

Participation is entirely voluntary. All the government schools which are run by the government, also subsidized schools, the most common one run by charitable and religious organisations with government funding, can also participate in the scheme.