1

A.M.D.G.

WahYanCollege,HongKong

AJesuitSecondarySchool

Proposalon

CreatingConditionsforRenewedMissionandSustained

DevelopmentbyadoptingtheDirectSubsidyScheme

ConsultationDocument(Revised)

CommissionedbytheJesuitEducationBoard

October2017

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“TheLordisaskingofusthecouragetofollowthepathofrenewal.Allofusareawareoftherapidevolutiongoingonintheworld,insocietyandintheculture.Education,theschool,isprofoundlyimmersedinthisevolutionandthismeansthatwemustbeengagedinacontinuousadaptation.Toconsiderourselvesoutsideofhistoryisequivalentto

declaringourselvesdead(...)Everychangemustbetheresultofcarefulresearch,acceptingtheriskwhichchangealwaysimplies.”

Fr.Kolvenbach,S.J.(1986)

Yourcomments/ideas/suggestionsareimportanttous.Pleasesendusyourinputsthroughthefollowingchannels:-

Mail Address:-WahYanCollege,HongKong281Queen’sRoadEast,WanChai,HongKong

Email OurofficialemailaddressforWYHKDSS:-wyhk-dss@wahyan.edu.hk

ConsultationSessions PleaserefertoourwebsitefromtimetotimeondatesofupcomingSessions.

SubmissionviaGoogleForm Link:https://goo.gl/forms/vSJZxnATG1drE9b12

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Contents

Preamble.................................................................................................................................4

Chapter1:Introduction...........................................................................................................5

Chapter2:DSSforWYHK–OneStone,ThreeBirds?................................................................8

Chapter3:TheVisionandParametersforaDSS-WYHK..........................................................18

Chapter4:ManagementandGovernance..............................................................................22

Chapter5:AdmissionofF.1students.....................................................................................25

Chapter6:ClassStructure,CurriculumandStudentDevelopment..........................................33

Chapter7:Staffing–HRpolicies,WorkingconditionsandRetainingGoodTeachers/Staff......37

Chapter8:FeelevelsandFinance...........................................................................................43

Chapter9:ConsultationofStakeholders.................................................................................47

Chapter10:Conclusion...........................................................................................................50

Appendices............................................................................................................................51

Appendix1:SchoolfeesofDSSSchoolswithsimilarbackgroundstoWYHKin2017/18..........52

Appendix2:StudentEnrolmentinPrimary6,2015.................................................................53

Appendix3:SecondarySchoolPlacesAllocationSysteminHongKong...................................54

Appendix4:MedianMonthlyDomesticHouseholdIncomeofAllDomesticHouseholdsby

DistrictCouncilDistrict,2016..................................................................................................59

Appendix5:ProfessorChengKaiMing’sviewonHRneedsofschoolsinHongKong..............60

Appendix6:ComparisonamongDSSSchoolswithsimilarbackgrounds..................................61

Appendix7:Financialsimulationbasedon2016/17...............................................................62

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Preamble

DSSisneitherintrinsicallygoodnorbad.Contrarytopopularbelief,itdependsona)

thecontextoftheschoolandb)howtheflexibilityitaffordstoaDSSschoolisbeing

implemented.

Thefirstchapterofthisdocumentisanintroductionofthecurrentexplorationand

theDSSmode.ThesecondchapterexplainswhyDSSmightatonceprovideoptimal

solutionstothreekeychallengesthattheschoolisorwillbefacinginthenearfuture

givenitscontext.ThethirdchapterexplainstheJesuitEducationBoard’sVisionand

parametersregardinghowaDSS-WYHKistobedesigned.Thesubsequentchapters

will provide in some detail on how DSS might be implemented at WYHK. They

include governance structure, admission, learning & teaching and student

development,HRpolicyandfinancialprojections.Therearequestionsalongtheway,

invitingstakeholderstocontributeinputssothattheycanparticipateinshapingthe

futureofWYHK.Chapter9describeshowtheconsultationwillbeconductedandthe

decisionmade,followedbyaconclusioninChapter10.

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Chapter1:Introduction

1.1Backgrounds

As Wah Yan College Hong Kong (WYHK) is approaching its centenary, The Jesuit

EducationBoard(JEB)commissionedaTaskforceinSeptember2015,consistingof6

teachers, 2 parents, 2 alumni and the Principal, to review the key challenges and

exploretheoptionsaheadfortheschoolsoastobetterrealizetheJesuitvisionto

education.

Afteroneandahalfyears,JEBreviewedtheoptionsanalyzedbytheTaskforceand

madethedecisiontoproceedwithformalconsultationonthepossibilityof joining

theDirectSubsidyScheme(DSS).

Throughtheresearchandanalysis,JEBnotedthattimeshavechangedandWYHKis

facingsomeuniquechallenges.Thetimeisripefortheschooltoseriouslyconsider

thepossibilityofjoiningDSS.

1.2TheDirectSubsidyScheme(DSS)-Highlights

BeforecommentingontheappropriatenessofWYHKturningDSSorgiving

suggestionsonshapingaDSS-WYHK,itisimportantwegetsomeofthefactsabout

DSSright.Herearehighlightsofitssalientfeatures:

• Thegovernment’spolicyobjectiveforDSSistoprovideflexibilityforschoolsso

thattheiruniquevisionsandapproachescanbeimplementedwithouttherigid

constraintssetbytheCodeofAid.Eachschoolcouldthenhavemoreroomto

develop itsuniquecharacteristics. ThepoolofDSSschoolswill ideallyprovide

choiceswithdifferentvisionsforparentswhomayhavedifferentaspirationsfor

theirsonsanddaughters.

• ReducinggovernmentspendingoneducationisnotapolicyobjectiveoftheDSS.

So thegovernment is actuallyprovidingmoreor less the sameamountofper

studentsubsidytoDSSschoolsastheaveragesubsidyperstudentintheAided

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Sector. That iswhysomeDSSschoolscansurvivewithrather lowschoolfees.

However,subsidyforDSSschoolsisbasedonnumberofstudents,notnumber

ofclasses.SothereisariskofreceivinglesssubsidyiftheclasssizeoftheDSS

schoolissmallerthantheaverageclasssizeofAidedschoolsinHongKong.

• There are currently 61 DSS secondary schools. Their fees range from $0 to

around$100,000peryear.

• RegardingDSSschoolswithsimilarhistoryandbackgroundstoWYHK,theirfees

rangefrom$18,800toover$60,000peryear.PleaserefertoAppendix1fora

comparisontable.

• There is flexibility with S1 Admission policy. DSS schools need not adhere to

districtrestrictions.

• For DSS secondary schools with linkage to primary schools, the admission

arrangements can be finely tailored to the special circumstances they are in

through an agreement between the primary school and the DSS secondary

school. IfWYHK stays aided, the only available options are: a) stay put (with

continuedallocationof85%oftheCentralAllocationplacestoNetBand1and

Band2 graduatesof its feeder primary school PUWY–which translates to 79

places),b)totaldelinkagewithnoreservedplacesfromWYHKandc)"through

train"(admittingallfromPUWYregardlessof"banding").

• TheMediumofInstruction(MOI)forDSSschoolsisbasedonactualsuitabilityof

theMOI ineachparticularDSSschool. Ontheotherhand, forAidedschools,

the permission to adopt English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) is based

strictlyonthe“banding”ofstudentintake–85%ormoreofF.1intakeshouldbe

atthetop40%band.Butthis“banding”reflectsoverallacademicachievement

ofastudentwhichneednotbethesameasastudent’sEnglishproficiency.

• Subsidy forDSSschools is ingeneralprovided in the formof lumpsumrather

thanseparategrantseachrestrictedtospecificuses1. Thisallowsforflexibility

offundusage.

• DSSschoolshavetheflexibilitytoadoptnon-localcurriculum(e.g.GCSEorIB)as

anoption,thoughthemajorityofthestudentsmustadoptthelocalcurriculum

andtaketheHKDSEexamination.

• IfasecondaryschoolturnsDSS,forthosestudentswhoarealreadystudyingin

aswellasthosehavingappliedforadmissiontothefeederprimaryschoolatthe

timeofannouncementofDSSapproval,theirchanceforbeingadmittedtothe

1ExceptforthosegrantswhichareseparatelyissuedtotheDSSschool,suchasCapacity

EnhancementGrantandCareerandLifePlanningGrant.

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secondary schoolwill not be affected. However, based on EDBpolicy, school

feeswillapply,thoughfeeremissionwillbeavailablefortheneedy.

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Chapter2:DSSforWYHK–OneStone,ThreeBirds?

The Exploration Exercise that took place from September 2015 to the December

2016 identifiedthreekeychallengestheschool is/willbe facing inthenear future.

Theyinclude:

a)Servingthepoor:theconstraintsoftheAidedSystemhaveparadoxicallyresulted

inastudentprofilewhichisingeneralratherwell-off.

b)Learnerdiversity:theadmissionsystemandchangeineducationallandscapethat

theschooliscurrentlysubjectedto(ratherthanthequalityofeducationatWYHKor

PUWY)haveresultedinexcessivelearnerdiversity2which,besidesissuesrelatedto

teachingandsomestudents'self-confidence,alsoputsWYHKatriskoflosingitsEMI

status.Thetrendhasbecomeratherworryingsince2011.

c)Resourceconstraints:thelongrunsustainabilityofrelyingsolelyondonationsto

support recurrent expenditures of the "Dream Campaign3" cannot be comfortably

assumed.Resourcesarealsoneededtosupportotheraspectsofourvisionandto

meetpracticalneedsuniquetoourschool.

Thesewillbeelaboratedinthefollowingsections.

2Ingeneral,educatorsshouldseelearnerdiversityasanopportunityratherthanachallenge.

However,whenitbecomesexcessive,thenwewillneedtopayattentiontotheadverseeffectonthe

qualityoflearningandstudentdevelopment.TheevolutionfromtheHongKongSecondarySchool

EntranceExam(HKSSEE)systembeforetheearly1980stotheBandingsystem,thenthereductionof

5Bandstoonly3havegraduallyincreasedlearnerdiversityovertheyearsandthisappliestoall

Aidedschools,includingschoolsadmitting100%Band1studentsduetowiderbands.AtWYHK,it

seemswemightbefacingaleveloflearningdiversitythatissomewhatbeyondtheoptimallevel.

3The“DreamCampaign”referstoFrDeignan’swishtoenhancelearningandteachingatthetwoWah

YansthroughimplementationofSmallClassTeaching.ThemainpurposeoftheWYOFFistoraise

fundstorealizethisideal.

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2.1Servingthepoor

OfalltheconcernsthathaveledtotheExploration,Visioncarriesparticularweight

fortheSocietyofJesus(ourSponsoringBody). NowdespitebeinganAidedschool

with no school fee charged, there is strong evidence to suggest that the

socioeconomic backgrounds of current students of WYHK are significantly higher

thantheHongKongaverage.Table1belowshowsthedistributionofourstudents’

familyincomebasedonasurvey4donein2015-16.

Table1:Self-reportedFamilyIncomeofWYHKstudents(2015/16)

FamilyMonthlyIncome %ofstudents

$0-$10,000 5% $10,001-$25,000 9% $25,001-$40,000 20% $40,001-$55,000 18% $55,001-$70,000 13% Over$70,000 36%

As reference, the median monthly domestic household income in Hong Kong is

$25,000in2016.Soitseemsatleast86%5ofourstudentscomefromfamilieswhich

areabovethismedianincome.

Theother two indicatorsof studentprofileare thenumberof studentswhocome

from families supported by the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA)

SchemeorentitledtofullgrantundertheSchoolTextbookAssistanceScheme(STAS-

Full).In2015/16,lessthan1%ofthestudentscomefromfamiliesreceivingCSSAand

only4%ofthestudentsareentitledtoSTAS-Full.(Table2)

4These are self-reported figures. Some commentators think that there is a tendency for under-

reporting so the actual income level could be even higher, but this has not been confirmed nor

refutedinthestudy.

5Thetableaddsuptomorethan100%duetorounding.

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Table2:NumberofWYHKstudentsreceivingCSSAorSTAS-Fullinschoolyear2015/16

CSSA STAS-Full

F1-F3 3 16

F4-F6 4 19

Total 7(0.8%*) 35(4%*)*Percentageoftotalstudentpopulation.

Tounderstandwhythishascomeabout,wemayturntotheS1AdmissionSystem

applicabletoanAidedSchoolwithaFeederPrimarySchool.Basedonthissystem,

threedifferentgroupsofprimaryschoolstudentsenjoydifferentchancesforbeing

admittedtoWYHK:

a) 79 Central Allocation places (CA) are to be allocated to our Feeder School

PUWY6,providedthestudentisatNet-Band2orabove.[85%ofourtotalCA,

whichinturnaccountfor70%ofourreservedF.1places].

b) 14 Central Allocation places (CA) are to be allocatedmainly toWan Chai7

[15%ofourtotalCA,whichinturnaccountfor70%ofourreservedF.1places]

– the P.6male students inWan Chai in 2016-17was estimated to be 888

basedongovernmentfigures8.

c) 43 Discretionary Places (DP) to be open for application without district

restrictions[30%ofF.1placesatWYHK]-P.6malestudentsinthewholeof

HongKongin2016-17wasestimatedbythegovernmenttobe24,2679.

SincethesocioeconomicbackgroundsofstudentsfromPUWYandWanChaiNetare

generally expected to be relatively higher10, the observation that most of our

6Thenumberofgraduatesinrecentyearshasbeenreducedtoabout120(fromabout160)dueto

territory-widereductioninclasssizeforprimaryschoolsinHongKong.

7With3placesforSouthernDistrictand2forplaceswithoutdistrictrestrictions.

8PleaseseeAppendix2forgovernmentfiguresonP.6enrolmentinlocalschoolsinHongKong.

9PleaseseeAppendix3fordetailsoftheSecondarySchoolPlacesAllocationSysteminHongKong.

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studentscomefrommorewell-offfamiliesdoesnotcomeasasurprise. Whilewe

havenevertriedtoselectstudentsfromthehigher incomegroups,thesystemhas

donea“selection”ofitsownthroughtheconstraintsitimposesonapplicants.Given

thateconomicinequalityinHongKongisamongthemostseriousinthedeveloped

world, it prompts us to seriously rethink the possibility of breaking free of the

constraintswearesubjectedtoundertheAidedSystemsothatwecanadmitmore

students from lesswell-offdistrictsandgroups inHongKongandplayourhumble

partinbridgingthewealthgap.

2.2LearnerdiversityandEMIStatus

Educatorsshouldnotshyawayfromlearnerdiversitybutshouldtrytoaddresswith

itpositively.Some levelof learnerdiversitycan in factbeagood thing. However,

thereisprobablyanoptimallevelofdiversitybeyondwhichlearningqualitycouldbe

harmed for all students in the class. Our data and the actual experience in the

classroom indicate that we have a higher than optimal level of learner diversity.

Whatismore,since2011,thepercentageofstudentsbeing"EMI-capable"(basedon

EDBdefinition11)hasedgeddangerouslyclosetothe85%minimumrequiredunder

theAidedsysteminorderthatwecankeepourEMIstatus.WithsmallerPUWYP.6

graduatingcohorts12inrecentyears,thequotaof79havenotbeenfullytakenupin

thelastthreeyears,implyingthatallNetBand1andBand2graduatesfromPUWY

who selectedWYHKhave successfully gainedadmission toWYHK. The figuresare

respectively74in2014and70inboth2015and2016.

ItiseasytojumptothewrongconclusionthateitherWYHKorPUWYarenotdoing

well.Ouranalysisdoesnotsupportthisclaim.WYHKhasactuallybecomeevenmore

10WanChaiisregardedastherichestdistrictinHongKong,significantlyricherthanthemedian.See

Appendix 4 for comparison across different districts in Hong Kong. The 2016 median monthly

domestichouseholdincomeforWanChaiis$37,750whilethatfor“AllDistricts”isjust$25,000.

11Beingwithinthetop40%bandterritory-wide.

12ClasssizeofPUWYwasreduced(followingterritory-widepolicy)from40to30in2008.Inthedays

whentheclasssizewas40,aquotaof79representsaquotapercentageof79/160=49.4%.With

smallerclassesof30,thequotaof79representsaquotapercentageof79/120=65.8%.

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attractivetoapplicantsthanpreviousyears.TheapplicationnumberfortheF.1DP

placeshasincreasedbyover42%from2014to2017.AsforPUWY,itcanbeshown

thatifPUWYisjustanaverageschoolinanaveragedistrictinHongKong,thebest

we can achieve (i.e. all non-PUWY intakes are Band 1) in terms of EMI-capable

studentsisonly77.1%13.Thefactthatwehavecontinuedtohaveover85%ofEMI-

capablestudentsthroughouttheseyearsisalreadyquiteanachievement.Soitisnot

abouthowwellWYHKorPUWYaredoing.Therealproblemlieswiththeconstraints

ofthesystem,thechangingeducationallandscapeinHongKongandclasssize.

Going into the future, will there be a risk that our EMI-capable percentage falls

below 85%? One projection has shown that had PUWY been in a more average

District/NetthanWanChaiinthepast3yearssothatmorestudentsbecomeeligible

tofillmostorallofthecurrentlyunfilledquotas(2014:3,2015:8or9,2016:8or

9),thenevenwiththesamegroupofstudents,wewouldhavealreadyfailedtomeet

theEMIstandardinallthese3years.ItmustbenotedthatWanChai'sDistrict/Net

Banding standard is generally understood to be very high. As a reference, in our

2016admission,forthesamegroupofnewstudents,thenumberofthesestudents

being classified as Band One will be 34% higher if measured by Territory-wide

Banding,as compared tobeingmeasuredbyDistrict/NetBanding (overwhelmingly

basedonWanChaiDistrict/Netstandard).Nowthesaidprojectionaboutlosingour

EMI status requires only that the number of District/Net Band 1 and 2 PUWY

13Thisstatementcanbeshownasfollows:

AssumeP.6studentsatPUWY=120

WYHKquotasforPUWY=79

Band1students(1/3of120)fillingthequotas=40

Band2studentsfillingtherestofthequotas=39

Band2students’abilitiesrangefromthetop33.3%marktothetop66.7%mark.

So, percentageof theseBand2 studentswho are among the top 40%= (40%– 33.3%) / (66.7%–

33.3%)=20%

PercentageoftheseBand2studentswhoarebelowthetop40%group=1–20%=80%

Actualnumberofthisgroupofnon-EMI-capablestudents=39X80%=31.2

Assumingallnon-PUWYadmitteesareEMI-capable,

thenthepercentagethatisnotEMI-capable,outofthetotalintakeof136=31.2/136=22.9%

ThismeansthepercentageofEMI-capablestudentsis100%-22.9%=77.1%<85%

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students increase by a mere 11% if measured based on a District/Net Banding

StandardjustmoderatelylowerthanthatofWanChai.Atthispointintime,noone

canpreciselyquantifytheriskthatWYHKwillloseitsEMIstatusin5,10or20years’

timebuttheaboveanalysisisworryingindeed. Andthepainfulfactis,thisthreat

relates to structural factors andnot theattractivenessofWYHKnor thequalityof

PUWY'seducation.

Another question worth asking is: what is the "risk tolerance" of the Wah Yan

CommunitywithWYHK losing its EMI status? This relates to the seriousnessof its

consequences. Some have described such an eventuality as "apocalyptic". The

damage of losing the EMI status goes much beyond a mere change inMOI as it

threatensourveryheritageandourabilitytonurtureleaderswithChristianvaluesin

ametropolitancity.ItisregardedasdisastrousnotonlytocurrentWahyanitesbut

alsotoprospectiveWahyanites,includingstudentsofPUWYaspiringtobeadmitted

to WYHK. Furthermore, if WYHK stands for a unique and valuable approach to

educationthathasbearingsonthecorevaluesofHongKong,thenthelossforWYHK

is also a loss for Hong Kong. From these perspectives, the risk tolerance of this

scenarioisverylow.Soshouldwewaituntilitactuallyhappensbeforetakingaction,

orshouldwebeproactivebeforeitistoolate?

Under the Aided system, WYHK cannot readjust the number of our intake from

PUWYunlessweareprepared to go all theway todelinkwithPUWY. For several

importantreasons,thisissomethingwearereluctanttodoifwehaveotherchoices.

What ismore, under the Aided system, the criteria for EMI eligibility is based on

students'overallbanding,not theiractualEnglishproficiency. Onlyunder theDSS

canwehavetheflexibilitytore-adjustthequotaandadoptmorerelevantadmission

criteriaforPUWYgraduates.

2.3Resources

We do not aim to become a school with luxurious facilities and an overly

comfortable learning environment. An environment that is too comfortable, a life

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withlittledifficulty,andapupilwitha"consumer'smindset"arecounterproductive

to students'developmentandcontrary toourvision. However,wedoneedsome

resources in addition to what the Aided system currently provides in order to

support our educational ideals. Fr. Deignan's "Dream Campaign" to support Small

Class Teaching (SCT) and some whole person support/development programs

throughfundraisingbyWahYanOneFamilyFoundation(WYOFF)isacaseinpoint.

However,thesustainabilityofraisingfundstosupportrecurrentexpendituresofthe

campaigncannotbecomfortablyassumed14.

And going beyond the “Dream Campaign”, there are other areas that need extra

fundingifWYHKistodeliverqualityeducationinthelongrungivenitscontextand

uniquevision:

a) GeneralinadequacyofresourcesforAidedschools:

Many teachers and educators in Hong Kong have opined that government

resources provided toAided schools is insufficient15. In fact, the rapid rise in

teacherworkloaddue togrowingdevelopmentalneedsof students inanever

more complex world, rising expectations among stakeholders and increasing

competitionisnotmetwithcorrespondingincreaseinresourcesforschools16.

b) Thelearner-centeredandmorepersonalizedapproachofJesuiteducation:

Jesuiteducationvaluestheuniquenessandinitiativeofeachindividual.Instead

of"standardization","control","command","outcome","efficiency",thewords

more applicable to the Jesuit approach may be "personalization",

"companionship", "support", "process", "effectiveness". Instead of being

imposedfromwithout, learningaspreferredbytheJesuits, istobedeveloped

organically from within. This calls for patience, more opportunities for

interactionsbetween teachers /professional staff and studentsoutsideof the

classroom, and requires smaller classes as well as additional human service14CurrentheadcountsfundedbyWYOFFmaybeaffectedinthemediumtolongterm.

15Please refer to Prof. KM Cheng’s recent article on the need for additional human resources,

includingteachers,supportingprofessionalsandstaff foradministrationandculturalenhancements

inAppendix5.

16Government’sreluctancetoaddheadcountortoturntheoutdatedNon-Gradtrack(CM,AM,SAM)

postsintoGradtrack(GM,SGM)postsareexamples.

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personnel17(e.g.psychologists,counselors,socialworkers,studentdevelopment

officers,etc.).TheresourcesprovidedundertheAidedmodeareinadequatefor

implementation of this distinctive Jesuit approach. With more resources,

studentswithdifferentcharacteristics suchas studentswhoaregiftedorwith

talents inparticularareas,studentswithspecialneeds(psychological,physical,

academic. family), students active in extra-curricular activities (ECA) needing

consolidationof their richexperiencethroughguidedreflections,etc.couldbe

supportedtoflourishinthemostsuitableway.

c) SustainingJesuitcharacteristicsthroughspecialstaffformationprograms:

ThefallingnumberofJesuitsinHongKongrequiresthatweputmoreemphasis

onIgnatianPedagogyandIgnatianleadershipinourstaffformation.Weshould

also engagemore in the regional and global community of Jesuit schools and

educators to keep abreast of developments, to contribute to it, and to form

alliances. These programs as well as follow-up activities would requiremore

resources so thatwe can continue to stay Jesuit not only in namebut also in

substance.

d) EnhancingtheEMIenvironmentthroughmoreNET(s):

One special feature ofWYeducation in the old days is the “culture shock” of

being taught by foreign Fathers. To recreate this is impossible, but to do the

least,wecouldhavemorenativeEnglishteachers(NETs)intheschoolandmore

opportunitiesforoverseasstudentexchanges.

e) Creatingroomformaneuverforreform:

Givenourlonghistoryandtherapidlyevolvingeducationallandscape,thereare

variousaspectsoftheschoolthatrequirerethinkingorreform.However,witha

fixed amountof resources, anymanpower allocated to investigateor test out

new approaches will often lead to significant increase in workload for

others/overall.Whilewehaveconfidenceinthededicationofourteachersfor

17 Some schools with resources to employ more teachers and/or social workers / student

developmentofficerswouldorganizecompulsorypersonaldevelopmentcampslocallyoroverseasat

differentstagesofthestudents'secondaryschool life(e.g.F.1forbridgingandadaptationtoanew

environment and new expectations, F.2/3 for transition towards being a young adult striving for

independence but requiring amatching sense of responsibility, F.3/4 for preparation of leadership

roles,F.4/5forchallengesofthepublicexamandmakingchoicesforlifebeyondthesecondaryschool,

etc.). Such experiences of living together outside the school setting also help teachers and staff to

understand the different facets of the students’ characters and identify better the developmental

needsofindividualstudents.

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continuous improvements, if dedicated teachers need to bear increased

workload over an extended period of time, then we need to see if it is

sustainability.

f) Longertermprospectsforcurrentcontractsupport/professionalstaff:

Ithasbeenobservedthattherearequiteanumberofverydedicatedteaching-

supportstaff,suchasTAs,IT/AVtechnicians,professionalstaffetc.whoarenot

part of the government-funded permanent establishment atWYHK. However,

giventheunstablenatureoffundingbythegovernment18orourprivatefunding

for such posts, we cannot offer them any reasonable long term prospects.

However,theyareoftenengagedinvitalservicesthatrequirecontinuity.

g) Facilitiesandcampusmanagement,maintenanceandenhancements:

Weareblessedwitha large campusmore thandouble the sizeof anaverage

secondaryschoolinHongKongwithmanytreesandwildlife.Howeverthisalso

requires more resources to maintain – the monthly electricity bill and the

occasionalneedtotakecareofthedangerposedbyourtreesareexamples.The

agingbuildings(andbuildingswithfacilitiesfromdifferentages)furtheraddto

the cost of management andmaintenance. The governmentmay provide for

“repairs”thatfitintoitsrestrictivedefinitionbutthoserepairsthatfalloutsideit

arenot covered. Furthermore, neededenhancement / campusdevelopment19

work considered “above standard” (whichmay nonethelessmake the campus

more favorable to learning,moreuser-friendly andbetter utilized)will not be

funded.

h) Nurturing/supporting/benefittingfromanexceptionallylargenetwork:

Another special featurewe are grateful for is thatWah Yan has a big alumni

networkconsistingofoldboysofdifferentgenerationslocatedindifferentparts

oftheworld.Externalorganizationsandotheroutsiderslocallyandoverseasare

18Forexample, funding forSENsdependson thenumberof reportedSENcasesandseriousnessof

thecaseseveryyearsotheactualfundingeachyearcanbequitedifferentfrompreviousyears,and

theschoolonlygetsthefundingafterthecasesareconfirmedmaking itdifficulttoplanmanpower

ahead.

19Somecampusdevelopmentwork thathavebeen suggestedby variousparties includee.g. the IS

Lab,theStudentLibrary,theReceptionCounter,resizingofsomeclassroomsintheGordonWuHall,

turning the campus into a "Learning Campus" with additional decorations and intellectually-

stimulatingdisplays,better/quieterworkingenvironmentforteachers,etc.Somehavealsosuggested

longeropeninghoursoffacilities.

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alsoveryinterestedtoknowaboutus,toenterintodialogueorevenmutually-

beneficialcooperationwithus.However,itrequiresextramanpowertoexplore

such opportunities – whether it be supporting/nurturing or benefitting from

them.

TheabovearebutsomeofthemanyareasthatWYHKcanbenefitfrommore

resources.

2.4Conclusion:DSScouldbeasolutionthatsolvesthreekeychallengesinonego

This chapter has shown, with backup data, that we are facing three serious

challenges.Somesolutionsmaysolveoneortwoofthesechallengesbutittakesthe

boldstepofadoptingDSStosolveallthreeproblemsinonego.WithDSS,

a) We can reach out to admit more students from less well-off districts and/or

groupssothatstudentsfromdifferentsocioeconomicstatus(SES)canbenefitfrom

Jesuit education and that the increase in diversity of the SES of our students is in

itselfasourceofinspirationtostudentsfromallbackgrounds.

b)Wecanre-adjustthemuchtreasuredrelationshipwithPUWYwithoutanoutright

delinkagesothatameaningfulrelationshipcancontinue,providinguswithacritical

massofF.1studentswhoalreadyhave6-yearsofeducationwithJesuitvaluesand

benefitting all other F.1 students - all these, without leading to excessive learner

diversityaswellastheriskoflosingourEMIstatus;anddoingjusticetonon-PUWY

studentswhoaspirestronglytoonly6yearsofJesuiteducationatWYHK.

In away, the flexibility ofDSSmaybe used to reduce somewhat excessive learner

diversityandincreasediversityofstudents'socioeconomicbackgrounds.

c)We can steer away from sole reliance on donations to achieve our educational

idealsasthosewhocanafforditcanpayforthecostswhiledonationscanfocuson

helping the needy. A modest increase in resources can also support sustainable

effortstoimplementtheJesuitvisioninouruniquecontextoverthelonghaul.

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Chapter3:TheVisionandParametersforaDSS-WYHK

In the 25 January, 2017meeting of the Jesuit Education Board, themembers laid

downafewbroadparameterswithinwhichtheschoolshoulddeveloptheproposal.

Theyinclude:

a. Theschoolshouldbeaplaceforboththepoorandtherichtolearnfrom

eachotherandtogrowtogetherasbrothersequallyvaluableinGod'seyes.

b. Theschoolshouldchargeaclearlylowschoolfee(e.g.$20,000orlessper

year)as compared to schoolsof similar standing toavoid the imageofa

schoolexclusivelyfortherichandprivileged(����)20.

c. Curapersonalisasanidealshouldapplytothestaffaswellsoitshouldbe

takenintoaccountwhentheschooldevelopsitsHRpolicies

3.1Respondingtothegreaterneedsofsociety

WithaswitchtoDSS,WYHKaspirestobe“aplaceforboththepoorandtherichto

learn fromeachother and to grow together as brothers equally valuable inGod's

eyes."

Givenourheritage,WYHKisuniquelypositionedtorespondtothegreaterneedsof

societyinHongKongbyprovidingconditionsfordevelopingacommunitythatcuts

across(andthusbondsstudentsfromdifferent)socioeconomicclassesandlocations

in Hong Kong. In thisway, these studentswould learn to see each other not just

throughthelensofclassesbutasrealhumanbeings,everyoneuniqueyetsharinga

common humanity. This openness to embrace differences, confidence in the

possibilityofunityindiversityandconcreteactiontodevelopasenseofcommunity

aresorelyneededforthelongtermhealthydevelopmentofHongKong.

20Thekeyconcernhereisthattheimageofaschoolsolelyfortherichandprivilegedmaydeterpoor

studentsfromapplying.

19

Students learn not just from their academic studies but also fromeachother. By

gettingstudentsfromdifferentdistrictsandsocioeconomicclassestogether,theless

well-offwillnotseesocalled"prestigiousschools" likeWahYanas intimidatingor

unreachable. They also gain access to "social capital"21, a factor increasingly being

recognized as important for upward mobility. With our long history and status,

WYHK is uniquely positioned to play a special role in letting the lesswell-off gain

access to our “social capital” if we can admit more students from more diverse

socioeconomicbackgrounds.ThishasbeenapreciousfeatureatWYHKinthe"good

olddays"whenwehadmorepoorkidsmixingwiththerich,butthishasgradually

faded with the changing educational landscape and socioeconomic profile of our

mainstudent"catchmentareas".DSSmaybeawayforustoregainthisinvaluable

function thatWYHKhas performed sowell for generations ofWahyanites and for

HongKonginthepast.

As for themorewell-off, theymay have an evenmore important lesson to learn

fromthosefromthegrassroots:thatofgratitude,humility,simplicity,toughness in

facing the many difficulties in life through gradual appreciation of the social and

economicprofileofthepopulationinHongKongthatissodifferentfromtheirown

ortheir immediatefamilycircle. Wiseparentswillknowthatthis ismorevaluable

thananyeducationmoneycanbuy.

3.2DSS-WYHKshouldchargeamodestfee:Notaschoolsolelyfortherich

21IntheyearsrightaftertheWWIIandturmoilinChinamorethan50yearsago,mostpeopleinHong

Kong were refugees. Social networks developed in mainland China have mostly broken down.

Education and hard work were thus keys to upwardmobility. The spirit of the Lion Rock was an

appropriate representation of that generation. However, times have changed. With the peaceful

development inthepast fewdecades inHongKong,newnetworksofrelationshipshavedeveloped

andgraduallybecomemoreentrenched.Accesstosuchnetworks,beingpartofsocialcapital,have

becomemoreimportantthesedaysinadditiontoagoodeducationandhardworkwhichsurelyare

stillimportant.

20

One obstacle to a DSS-WYHK in achieving this vision is the impression that DSS

schools are schools exclusively for the rich and privileged ("����"). In this

regard,theschoolwilladheretotheprinciplethat

"NostudentshouldbedeniedaplaceataDSS-WYHKsolelybecausehecannot

affordit"22.

Furthermore,tocountertheperceptionthatWYHKisaschoolexclusivelyfortherich

andprivileged("����")whichmaydeterthe lesswell-off fromapplying inthe

firstplace,theJesuitEducationBoardspecificallylaiddowntheparameterthatthe

schoolshouldchargeaschool fee that is significantly lower thanschoolsofsimilar

standing(e.g.$20,000orlessperyearincurrentterms)inits25Jan,2017meeting.

Othermeasures toencourage the lesswell-off toapply canbe found inChapter5

Section5.2.

Therehavebeenconcernsthatalowschoolfeemaynotbefinanciallyviableorthat

wemaynotbeascompetitiveasotherDSSschools.AshighlightedinChapter1,if

our class size is not smaller than the average of Aided secondary schools inHong

Kong,theschoolfeeincomealreadyrepresentsmoreorlessadditionalresourcesin

anaverageyear.AsforcomparisonwithotherDSSschools,asmentionedin2.3,we

areaimingatbuildingamorehumbleDSSschool.Assaid,webelievethataschool

environment which is too comfortable is actually counterproductive to personal

developmentduringtheadolescentstage.

Afterconsidering feedbacks inRoundOneConsultation, the JEBelaboratedon the

parameter on school fees as follows: The school should work on the basis of a

$20,000annual school fee,at “2016/17dollars”,butwecouldchargeahigher fee

(say$22,000to$23,000)forseniorformsgiventherearemoresubjectchoicesand

the average class sizes are smaller. In other words, the fee can be adjusted for

inflationinfuture.Besides,ifthereisagenuineneed,sayiftheschoolisrunninga

deficit,thenfeerevisioncanbeconsidered.

22FeeremissionsfortheneedywillincludesubsidiesforECAsandothercostsrelatedtostudyingata

DSS-WYHK.

21

3.3CuriaPersonalistoapplytothestafftoo

The Jesuit Education Board has specifically laid down the parameter that Cura

personalis as an ideal should apply to the staff aswell so it should be taken into

account when the school develops its HR policies. Cura personalis, roughly

translatedas "care for the individualperson"hasalwaysbeenahallmarkof Jesuit

education and was included as part of “The Characteristics of Jesuit Education”

(1986).

Of course, teachers and staff exist ultimately for supporting learning and

developmentofstudents.Thus,itisourhonoraswellasourresponsibilitytodeliver

qualityeducation. However, thisdoesnotmean that theschool shouldadopt the

management approach of some commercial enterprises which look at short term

gainsandtotallydisregardthehumanfactor.Thisisbadfornurturingastaffthatis

loyalanddedicated.

Infact,teacherswhoarebeingcaredforwillbemorelikelytohaveboththecapacity

and the enthusiasm to provide quality education that comes genuinely from their

hearts. It is thennot justanobligationbutacalling,anactualizationofwhatthey

findmeaningfulinlife.

22

Chapter4:ManagementandGovernance

4.1Currentgovernancestructure

IncorporatedManagementCommittee

TheSchoolisnowmanagedbytheIncorporatedManagementCommittee(IMC)of

WYHK.PursuanttotheEducationOrdinance,theIMCconsistsof

- SevenSchoolSponsoringBody(SSB)ManagersandanSSBAlternateManager

- ATeacherManagerandanAlternateTeacherManager

- AParentManagerandanAlternateParentManager

- AnAlumniManager

- AnIndependentManager

- ThePrincipalasexofficioManager

StaffMeeting(withoutthePrincipal)

Thisisauniqueinstitutionoftheschoolthatwasestablishedinthe1980s.Itsoffice

bearers include one Chairperson and one Secretary both of whom are elected by

members.ItsAims,asstatedinitsbylaw:

a) The Staff Meeting should be the communication channel between the School

authoritiesorthedifferentCommitteesandtheteachingandlaboratorystaffofthe

School.

b) The Staff Meeting should discuss and give opinions for common interests or

problems of the teaching and laboratory staff for the reference of the School

authoritiesortheCommittee(s)concerned.

SchoolAdvisoryCommittee

23

Establishedby the IMC to advise on and assist in planning and implementationof

schoolpolicy,theSchoolAdvisoryCommittee(SAC)consistsof

- ThePrincipal

- ThetwoVice-Principals

- theChairpersonoftheStaffMeeting

- threeelectedteacherrepresentatives

- oneparentrepresentativefromthePTA

- onealumnirepresentativefromthePSA

There are two more committees with school-wide oversight functions: the

AdministrativeCommittee(AC)andtheSchoolBettermentCommittee(SBC).While

they have their specific scope, with the former taking care of school-wide

administrative matters and the latter focusing on school self-evaluation and long

term planning, staff members can also channel their concerns to the School

authoritiesorfunctionalCommitteesthroughthem.

4.2CreationofAnAppealsCommittee

Inviewoftheconcernsraisedbyteachers,itisproposedthatanAppealsCommittee

willbecreatedtodealwithlayoffdecisionsbytheadministration.Teacherswillbe

invited to select among a choice of compositions endorsed by the JEB and that

amongthechoices,theremustbesomewhichconsistofteacherrepresentatives.

Twoexamplesofsuchchoicesare:

3-memberexample:

� Supervisor

� Anacademic in theFacultyof Educationof localUniversityORAnalumnus

whoiseitheralawyerorajudge

� Ateacherrepresentative(ateacherfromamongthepoolofelectedteacher

representativesatthetimenotobjectedtobyeitherparties)

24

5-memberexample:

� Supervisor

� AnacademicintheFacultyofEducationoflocalUniversity

� AmemberoftheJEBORaJesuitFather

� Analumnuswhoiseitheralawyerorajudge

� Teacher representative (a teacher from among the pool of elected teacher

representativesat the timenotobjected tobyeitherparties)OR theLegco

memberelectedfromtheeducationconstituencyORapersonnominatedby

thePTU

25

Chapter5:AdmissionofF.1students

5.1UpholdingourUniqueVisionwithEnduringRelevancetoStudents’Needs

Some stakeholders are concerned that by adoptingDSS,WYHK needs to abandon

ourvision(alongwithourtradition)andadoptthemethodsofsomeDSSschoolsin

HongKonginordertoattractfee-payingstudents.Quitetheopposite,theflexibility

andresourcesaffordedbyDSSactuallyprovidesuswithmoreflexibilitysothatitis

easierforustosticktoouruniquevaluesandapproach.

The very uniqueness of the Jesuit vision towards education, underpinned by a

sophisticatedand inspiringviewofhumanity, isalreadyembodied inour tradition,

ourvalues,ourschoolvision,theconceptofHumanExcellence,theexpectedprofile

ofgraduates,ourapproachtoeducation,includingouracademicprogramsandour

whole person development/ECA programs. When we ask what our alumni

rememberortreasureabouttheireducationatWahYan,theyoftencomeupwith

similaranswerswithprideandgratitude.Sowhatweneedtodoiftheschoolturns

DSS isnottoabandonourtradition,valuesandvisionandto inventnewones,but

rather,givenmoreflexibilityandamodestamountofextraresources,tostrengthen

themforthegreaterbenefitofthefuturegenerationsofWahyanites.

ItiseasyyetmistakentoseeallDSSschools,oratleastthoseDSSschoolswithalong

tradition, as the same. DSS schools differ greatly in terms of religious affiliation,

vision, tradition, core values, learning& teaching approach, location, campus, etc.

This diversity actually echoes a key ideaunderpinningDSS, that of its flexibility to

allowdevelopmentofagreatervarietyofschoolswithdifferentcontextsandvisions.

TherehavebeenconcernsthatifitturnsDSS,WYHKwillneedtoabandonitsunique

valuesandapproachandadoptthoseofsomeAided-turned-DSSschoolswhichare

regardedbysomeintheWahYancommunityasbeing“un-Wah-Yan”.However,the

selectedexamplesofacertaingroupofhighprofileDSSschoolsdonotmeanthatall

otherDSSschoolswill,orneedtoadoptthesamestrategywhentheyturnDSS.In

fact,thestyleofmanyAided-turned-DSSschoolsisacontinuationfromtheirAided

26

days.Theessenceoftheirapproachhasneverchanged.Thereareampleexamples

ofDSSschoolswhichhavedifferentvisionsandstyles,upholddifferentvalues,and

adopt different teaching and student development approaches and are also very

successful.

Withouruniquevisiontowardseducationwhichhasenduringrelevancetostudents’

needs,weareconfident thatwecanattractsufficientapplicationsbyparentswith

foresight without the need to resort to practices which betray our values. Please

refertoAppendix6foracomparisontableofDSSschoolswithsimilarbackgrounds

toWYHK. Given that a) the school fees of these schools range from $19,900 to

$68,000 and b) our unique vision towards education and developmental

environment,WYHKshouldremainveryattractivetoparentswithafeeof$20,000

orlower.Thus,concernsabouttheschoolbendingtowardsunreasonabledemands

outoffinancialconsiderationsseemunjustified.Itcanbeassumedthatparentswho

aspiretohavesonseducatedatWYHKappreciateourapproachandstylesandare

willingtoworkhandinhandwiththeschoolalongthisline.

5.2Attractinglesswell-offstudents

ItisourintentiontomakeuseoftheflexibilityprovidedbytheDSStoattractmore

lesswell-offstudentstoapply.However,thereareconcernsaboutitsfeasibility.The

followingaresomeofthewaysproposed:

a. Theschoolwilladheretotheprinciplethat“nostudentwillbedeniedaplace

solely because he cannot afford it”. To uphold this principle, the school will

makeprovisionsinitsbudgetbeyondtheminimum10%feeremissionrequired

by the government, such as an additional 15%. We shall also seek alumni

pledges for supportof theneedy.Manyalumniappreciate the Jesuit visionof

serving the poor and the neglected. Some of them have actually been

beneficiariesofthisvisionand/orgenerosityoftheirWahyaniteSiHing.

b. Feeremission is tobegrantedbasedon family finances (asbursaries)andnot

outstandingacademic/non-academicperformance. It is tobegranted for the

whole period of studies if the financial background remains the same. The

schoolwillprovide,inaddition,scholarshipsbasedonoutstandingperformance

butthisissomethingseparate.

27

c. Full or partial subsidy for fees for ECA will also be provided to the needy.

Subsidies for learning support (e.g. referencebooks, computer, etc.) andeven

transportationforstudentslivingfarfromtheschoolcanbeconsideredthough

howthiscanbeimplementedrequiresinputsfromstakeholders.

d. Thecriteriaforfeeremissionandvarioussubsidieswillbeclearlyspeltoutand

applicantscanbecertainaboutthesefinancialsupportsearlyatthestagewhen

theyarejustconsideringwhethertoapplyornot.Anonlinecalculatorusedby

someDSSschoolsisapracticethatwillbeadopted.

e. Therewillbeactivepromotiontoschools,communitycentersandchurches in

differentdistrictsthroughF.1AdmissionTalks.

f. Principal's recommendation schemes for lesswell-off P.6 students canalsobe

considered.

g. The School will provide different levels of fee remission depending on the

students’ family income. Thus, a significant percentage of students will get

someformoffeeremission.Thiswillmitigatethestigmaonpoorstudents.

h. “Gratitude” will be one of the key attitudes we want to inculcate among

students,sothatastudentwhocanaffordthefullfeeshouldfeelgratefulrather

than proud. As for the less well-off who enjoys fee remission, there are

concernsthattheymayfeelinferior.Heretheschoolshouldinculcateahealthy

senseofself-worth:allofusneedhelponewayoranother.Dignitybuiltonthe

belief that we never need help is actually dangerous. So instead of feeling

inferiororevenshamefulwhenweneedhelp,thehealthierattitudeisgratitude

andthecommitmentto“payitforward”byhelpingothersinneed.

i. Free summer English courses and/or personal growth programs for primary

schoolstudents(P.4andP.5)fromgrassrootsfamiliesrecommendedbyprimary

schoolprincipalscanbeorganizedatWYHKwithsupportbyvolunteeralumni,

students and parents. The purpose is to make Wah Yan more accessible to

primary students from different districts, to help less well-off students to

prepare for theirS1applications,and to letmore students (and theirparents)

appreciateJesuiteducation/valueswhethertheywilleventuallybeadmittedor

not.

j. Family financial background (in favorof the lesswell-off) canbe a tie-breaker

(for cases with same overall admission standing) in the admission system.

However, inputs from stakeholders are needed on how to address different

problemsinimplementingthispolicyinpractice.

28

5.3FeeRemissionModels

Thefollowingmodelswereproposed:

ModelA23

BasedstrictlyonStudentFinancialAssistanceAgency(SFAA)standards:

i)Fullfeeremission

Students receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) or full subsidy

fromSFAAwillbeentitled.Asanexample, fora4-person familywith twoparents

andtwokids,theannualincomeshouldnotexceed$209,120.

ii)Halffeeremission

Students receivinghalf subsidy fromSFAAwillbeentitled.Asanexample, fora4-

personfamilywithtwoparentsandtwokids,theannualincomeshouldbebetween

$209,120and$363,055.

ModelB

BasedonincomelevelrequirementssomewhatmoregenerousthanSFAAstandards:

i)Fullfeeremission

StudentsreceivingCSSAorwhosefamilieshaveanincomeuptoalevelmoderately

higherthanthemaximumallowedforfullsubsidyfromSFAA.Asanexample,fora

4-person family with two parents and two kids, the annual income should not

exceed$240,000.

ii)Halffeeremission

Studentswhose familieshavean incomeup toa levelmoderatelyhigher than the

maximumallowedforhalfsubsidyfromSFAA.Asanexample,fora4-personfamily

withtwoparentsandtwokids,theannualincomeshouldbebetween$240,001and

$432,000.23ThisisthemodeladoptedbyYingWaCollege.TheschoolfeeofYingWain2016/17is$18,800.

29

ModelAistheonewidelyusedtoassessfinancialneedsofstudentsevenforschool

feeshigherthantheoneweareproposing.Weproposethat,asastart,weshould

beprudentandadoptthisModel.However,whenthefinancialsituationallowsin

futureorwhenwefindwearenotattractingenoughstudentswhocouldenjoyfee

remissions,theschoolshouldconsiderswitchingtoamoregenerousarrangement

likeModelB.

5.4AdmissionPolicies

PUWYgraduates:

AssumingwesubmitaDSSapplicationand itgetsapprovedbyEDB, thechanceof

those students who are already studying in as well as those having applied for

admissiontoPUWYatthetimeofannouncementofDSSapprovalforbeingadmitted

toWYHKwill notbe affected. School feeswill applybasedonEDBpolicybut fee

remissionwillbeavailablefortheneedy. ThefollowingisadirectquotefromEDB

document:

Ifapprovedto jointheDSS,thefeederandnominatedsecondaryschoolshavethe

obligation to continue to reserve an appropriate percentage of their Secondary 1

places for the students already studying in as well as those having applied for

admissiontotheirfeederandnominatedprimaryschools…However,thesestudents

will be required to pay the DSS school fees charged by the secondary school.”

(“AdministrativeProcedures forStudentAdmissiontoDirectSubsidyScheme(DSS)

Schools Participating in the Secondary School Places Allocation (SSPA) System”,

Point8)

Thiswillimplyatransitionalperiodof6to7years.Tocontinuetomaintainaspecial

and close relationship between the two schools after this transitional period, and

after taking into account comments by different stakeholders and concerns raised

byPUDArepresentatives,wereviseourproposedadmissionarrangementasfollows:

30

(i) WYHK will admit directly all students ranked 55th or higher (with no

replacementforlowerranksifsomechoosenottotakeuptheoffer).

(ii) Forthoseranked56thto80th,theywillbeofferedthechanceforinterviews

along with applicants from other primary schools. However, these PUAWYPS

graduates will be given bonus marks to recognize their background of Jesuit

education.

(iii) TofacilitatePUAWYPStosettleinitsnewschooldistrict,WYHKwillprovide

anextrathreeyearsupontheinitialsixtransitionalyearsenjoymentofthecurrent

statusquoarrangement,i.e.,enrollingthefirstranking79P.6studentsofPUAWYPS.

Thisarrangementprovides:

• AsenseofsecurityforPUAWYPSanditsprospectiveparentsthatthereis

asizableguaranteedquotaforPUAWYPSgraduates(currentparentsand

evenprospectiveparentsinthecomingthreeyearswillnotbeaffectedat

all, given the extended transitional period proposed in response to

PUDA’sconcerns);

• Otherprimaryschoolswillhaveareasonablechanceforbeingadmitted

aswell;

• When PUAWYPS students become even better than before, thenmore

fromthegroupranked56thto80thwillbeadmitted,thusthehardwork

ofPUAWYPSteacherswillberecognized.

• Non-academic achievements and qualities will be considered for those

ranked56thto80th.Thissteerstheadmissioncriteriaawayfromapure

considerationofacademicachievementsunderthecurrentfeedersystem

(which may have caused some parents to request their sons not to

participate in ECA and focus on their studies in P.5 and P.6 to the

detriment of these students’ healthy development). The emphasis on

wholepersondevelopmentunderJesuiteducationcanbereaffirmed.

• Thisnewsystem is fairerasadmission isbasedonstudents’ownmerit,

notthepre-S1assessmentdoneinpreviousyearsbytheirseniors.Inthe

oldsystem,iftherearemoreeligiblestudentsthanplaces(probablythe

31

Band2students),thenarandomnumberwilldeterminewhocangetinto

WYHKornotsosomeonewhorankslowermaygetinwhileanotherwho

ranks higher may not. The current system eliminates this unfair

randomness.

• Withthetop55plusalikelyfew(e.g.5ormore)fromthoseranked56th

to 80th admitted toWYHK, the total admittedwill likely be 60 or even

more.Withagraduatingcohortof120inrecentyears,thepercentageof

PUAWYPSstudentsadmittedwilllikelybe50%orhigher.Thisisnoworse,

and could even be better than the situation in 2013 or earlier for

PUAWYPSwhenthegraduatingcohortswerearound160competingfora

quotaof79(49.4%).

• With a very outstanding graduating cohort, the number admitted can

evenbeashighas80.

It is unfortunate that some see the quota adjustment as a win-lose arrangement

wheninfactitiswin-win.TheDSSpropositionofWYHKcanprovidekeybenefitsto

PUAWYPSonat least twocounts:a)Somechallenges thatWYHKseeks toaddress

are results of the inflexibility of the current feeder arrangement under the aided

mode(whichhasnothingtodowithteachingqualityofPUAWYPSorthatofWYHK).

DSS is a way to tackle this while still maintaining a close link between the two

schools, thus addressing concerns of some stakeholders who are advocating the

delinking option. b) The provisions under DSS will strengthen WYHK’s quality of

education and open up newpossibilities for the school’s development in the long

run.With a significant number of graduates whowill continue to be admitted to

WYHK after it turns DSS under the proposed arrangements above, the enhanced

long-termprospectofWYHKwillhavelastingpositiveimpactonPUAWYPSaswell.

32

Non-PUWYGraduates:

TogivefairerchanceforNon-PUWYprimarystudentsaspiringtostudyatWYHK,the

School will recruit male students from all districts using the same set of criteria

whichistobedevelopedbasedonthatadoptedforourcurrentDPadmission.This

setofcriteria isholistic innatureand takes intoaccountbothacademicaswellas

non-academic attributes such as personality, conduct, service attitude, religious

affiliation,contributiontofellowstudentsintheprimaryschool,“communitybuilder”

attributes,potentialsinnon-academic,whole-persondevelopmentareas,etc.

However,concernshavebeenraisedthatECAachievementasacriterionmight

favourfamilieswiththemeans.Ourviewisthatwhileweshallnotignoreentirely

considerationofECAachievementasthisreflectsourrecognitionoftheimportance

ofwholepersondevelopmentthatismuchmorethanacademicachievementand

classroomlearning,weproposetoaddressthedilemmainthisway:

a)AquotalimitwillbesetforplacesthatconsiderEACachievements/potentials.

b)EvenforthoseplaceswhichconsiderECAachievements,academicachievements

andpotentialswillstillmakeupsignificantpercentagesinthetotalscore.

AdmissionofSENstudents

We are currently admitting special educational needs (SEN) students. This is

consistent with the vision of helping the marginalized. It is also an important

learningopportunityfornon-SENstudentsasarangeofvaluablepersonalattributes

canbenurturedthroughtheirdaytodaycontactwithSENfellowstudents(mutual

understanding, compassion, gratitude, justice, self-control, etc.). However, we

wouldliketohaveanumberthatismanageablesothatthoseadmittedcanreceive

effectivesupport. Weshalldetermine thisnumber regularlybasedona reviewof

ourcapacitiesandeffectivenessofoursupporttoexistingSENstudents.

33

Chapter6:ClassStructure,CurriculumandStudentDevelopment

6.1Classstructure

WYHK is allowed tooperate 4 classes per level and it is unlikely that the EDBwill

allowtheschooltooperatemoreclasses.Currently,tocaterforlearnerdiversityin

junior forms, teachingofChinese,EnglishandMatharedone in smallerclassesby

dividing the 4 classes into 6 to 8 groups. The extra manpower is supported by

WYOFF.

Underpresentarrangements,toallowforsmallerclassesinseniorformsandgreater

choiceofelectivecombinations,seniorformsaredividedinto5classeseventhough

government funding isbasedon4 classes.Theextra resources for this come from

theJesuitEducationTrustatWYHKwhichismuchsmallerinsizethanthatofWYOFF

andhasnostableincomeforsustainedsupportofthisseniorformarrangement.

IfWYHKturnsDSS,theadditionalfundingwillallowtheschooltohiremoreteachers

to support across-the-form smaller classes (i.e. dividing the4 classes into5 across

theboard24) so thatmorepersonal care forour students ispossible forall subject

teachersandformteachers.Asforwhether,andifyeshow,currentsplitclassesin

junior forms should be modified, we shall seek professional inputs from relevant

subjectpanels.

Toprovideroomformaneuverincaseofuncertainstudentintake,theschoolwould

applyforalarger“maximum”classsize(upto41perclassbasedon4classes(EDB

establishment)) but the “target” class size will be smaller (apart from also being

taughtin5classes,not4):

� Currentclasssize:36X4Classes

� MaximumclasssizeunderDSS:41X4Classesor32.8X5Classes

24Thisformofsmallerclasses,pluslessenhancementclassescanalsoreducetraveltimeofjunior

studentsbetweenclassrooms.

34

� Target average class size under DSS: 35.63 X 4 Classes or 28.525X 5

Classes

6.2Curriculum

DSS schools are required to offer the local curriculum to the majority of their

students.However,theyhavetheflexibilitytooffernon-localcurriculumfortherest

oftheirstudents. Non-localcurriculumscommonlyofferedbyDSSschools inHong

Kong include theGCEand the IBcurriculum. GCE isacurriculummore familiar to

teachersinHongKongwhileIBisratherdifferentandcostly.Torunthelatter,DSS

schoolsneedtochargeextrafromtheirstudents. Inanycase,toruntwoormore

curriculumsinparallelinaschoolofWYHK’ssize(withonly4establishmentclasses

perform)canbechallengingunlesstheneedclearlyjustifiesthis.Weproposethat

the desirability and feasibility of offering non-DSE curriculum should not be

consideredduringthefirstfewyearsofswitchingtoDSSwhenoureffortsshouldbe

focusedonadaptingtothisnewmodeofoperation.

Forjuniorforms,ourcurrent3-yearSchoolDevelopmentPlanisfocusedon

developingstudentsintoself-directedlearnersthroughstimulationofintellectual

curiosity,skillstraining,andhabitformation.Withmoreresources,weshallhave

themeanstodevelopaschool-basedprogrammesothatalljuniorformWahyanites

willgothrough.

6.3SchoolEthos

While our School vision, the Vision of Jesuit education worldwide, as well as our

traditionwill continue to form thebasisofour approach,with the introductionof

DSS,theschoolwillpayparticularattentioninpromotingthefollowing:

- Unityindiversity,brotherhood,andsenseofcommunity

25JuniorForms:32X5Classes;SeniorForms:25X5Classes.

35

- Gratitudeandhumility

- Simplicityandtoughnessinfacingdifficulties/adversities

- Importanceofthenon-materialandspiritualdimensioninlife

- MenforandwithOthers,andHumanExcellence

Many programmeswe are nowdoing are alreadyworking towards these values.

With more resources for additional manpower some of these might even be

strengthened or with the current heavy workload of our staff slightly alleviated.

Such existing programmes include WAMFO (mandatory requirement to perform

community service), Ignatian Value Education, student retreats, a host of team

activities and competitions (but with more manpower support, more emphasis

could be placed on quality and reflections on / learning from experience rather

than quantity), scouting, red cross, debate, drama, school publications, just to

nameafew.

New initiativesmay also be considered, such as day/weekof "solidaritywith the

neglected/marginalizedinHongKong,China,andtheworld",policythatrequiresall

studentstotakepublictransport(andwalkuptheWahYanstairs/slope)toschool

everyday, program for cleaning up of the campus or even the lavatories (with

support by student development staff so that there is sufficient briefing and

debriefing to make such experiences learning opportunities), practice of

mindfulnessinadditiontoexamen,etc.

6.4CampusandFacilities

GivenextraresourcesfromDSS,itwillnowbepossibletobetteraddresstheurgent

andlongtermneedsforvenuesandfacilities.Somepossibleareasforimprovements

andupgradesinclude:

- BettersupportforeffectiveandefficientclassroomteachingwithITandAV

equipmentupgradesandadditionalmanpowersupport

- UpgradeofISLab

36

- Enhancement of the library, making it a key component in self-directed

learning

- ITnetworkandsystemssupport

- Moreproper-sizeclassroomswithproperclassroomsettings26(withpossible

reductioninclasssizeandincreaseinnumberofclassesperform)

- Moreresourcestoimprovegeneralupkeep,maintenance,andmanagement

ofcampusandfacilities

- Keepingthetreesandourpreciousnaturalenvironmentsafeandbeautiful

- General office/staffroom expansion for increased headcount and possible

redesignthatcatersforbothprivacyandcommunitybuilding

26Forexample,suitabilityofusingthelecturetheatresasclassroomsshouldbereviewed.

37

Chapter7:Staffing–HRpolicies,WorkingconditionsandRetainingGoodTeachers/Staff

7.1CurrentRegularEstablishment("permanent")Staff

The employment condition of all current staff in the Regular Establishment (RE)

should remain unchanged including conditions governing salary adjustments

(followingthegovernmentMPS),annualpointincrementuptotherankmaximum,

andthatthereisnoneedforannualrenewalofcontract.Itisunderstoodthatthose

whoarealreadyintheGrantsSchoolsProvidentFund(GS-PF)schemecancontinue

withthisschemeuntilretirement.

Theschoolshouldprovideapermanentstaffestablishment(intermsofnumberof

positionsfordifferentrankssuchasPGM,SGM,GM,etc.)thatisatleastasgoodas

orevenbetterthanthecurrentprovisionsundertheaidedmode.

This establishment of staff with permanent contracts will not shrink when

permanent teachers retire. Instead, their positions will be allocated to contract

teachers so that they can have the opportunity to join the rank of permanent

teachers.

7.2New/CurrentNon-RegularEstablishment("contract")teachers

To be consistent with the Cura Personalis approach of the Jesuits, to attract and

retain good teachers, and to balance the need for a period of formation and

observation,aclearpathwayofprogressionfromshorttermtopermanentcontract

theconditionofwhichissimilartocurrentREteachersshouldbeestablished.

After listening to concerns expressed by contract and permanent teachers, the

proposedmodelisamendedasfollows:

A 1+2 model is to be adopted for contract teachers who, upon satisfactory

completionofthe3-yearperiod,willbeputona“queue”forpermanentposts.The

number of permanent posts will be identical or slightly more than regular posts

38

available in the staff establishment of an aided school of the same size. Contract

teachers will then need to wait for vacancies. Once there are vacancies, those

alreadyinthequeuewillautomaticallybegiventhepermanentposts inturn. This

methodbalancesthesenseofinsecurityamongcontractteacherswhodesirestobe

confirmedoftheirsuitabilityearlyandfinancialprudencefortheschool. Theissue

ofhaving“twotypesofteachers”canbesolvedbecauseallcontractteacherswho

prove themselves to be suitable within 3 years will one day become permanent

teachers.

7.3Non-graduatetrackteachers

IntheAidedsector,therearetwotracksintheRE:GraduateTrack(GM,SGM,PGM)

andNon-graduateTrack (CM,AM,SAM). Given thatnearlyall teachersnowadays

possessat least aBachelors’Degree, thisdistinction isoutofdate. Flexibility and

extra resources fromDSSprovideanopportunity toaddress this. Indoingso, it is

noted that the duties of teachers in these two tracks are not entirely the same.

Teachers' input will be important as we ponder on how the modified staff

establishmentshouldlooklikewhentheNon-graduatetrackisbeingabolished.

AfterbalancingtheviewsexpressedinRoundOneConsultatioin,itisproposedthat:

(a) Degree-holdernon-graduateteacherswhoarealreadyperformingdutiesof

GMswillautomaticallybeofferedtheGMrank.

(b) Degree-holdernon-graduatetrackteacherswhoarenotperformingdutiesof

GMscanopttoeither(i)stayintheNon-graduatetrackwithnochangein

workloadandjobnature(e.g.teachingseniorforms)butwiththesalaryceiling

increasedby2pointstorecognizethedegreequalification;or(ii)migratetothe

Graduatetrackiftheyarewillingtochangetheirworkloadandjobnatureto

thoseofaGM’s.

39

7.4Jobsecurity

Itisaconcernofsometeachersthatjobsecuritymaybereducedwithtransitionto

DSS.Whileitisproposedthatproceduresandcriteriafordisciplineactions(suchas

issuingofwarningsanddismissals)intheCodeofAidwillalsoapplytoaDSS-WYHK,

thereisstillaconcernrelatingtotheroleofthePermanentSecretaryforEducation

indismissals. Under theCodeofAid, thePermanentSecretarywill look into such

casestoseeifthedecisionhasfollowedpropercriteriaandprocedures.Thereisno

suchprovisiononthepartofthePermanentSecretaryunderDSS.Whilethisdoes

notimplythattheEDBwillnotbeconcernedorthatitwillnottakeactionagainsta

DSS school for cases of unreasonable dismissals, its role is not as clear as that

providedintheCodeofAid.

It must be clarified that the Code of Aid does not forbid Aided schools from

dismissing RE teachers with disciplinary issues. It just means the Permanent

Secretary reviews whether the procedure and criteria are being followed in the

process. No matter what, this distinction between DSS and aided schools is

perceived by some teachers as of a major concern. How this concern can be

addressedisoneoftheissuesthattheconsultationexercisewouldliketoaddress.

AppealsCommittee

Afterconsideringthemattercarefullyandlisteningtodifferentviewsbyteachers,it

isproposedthatanAppealsCommitteewillbecreatedtodealwithlayoffdecisions

by the administration. Teachers will be invited to select among a choice of

compositionsendorsedbytheJEBandthatamongthechoices,theremustbesome

whichconsistofteacherrepresentatives.

Twoexamplesofsuchchoicesare:

3-memberexample:

� Supervisor

40

� Anacademic in theFacultyof Educationof localUniversityORAnalumnus

whoiseitheralawyerorajudge

� Ateacherrepresentative(ateacherfromamongthepoolofelectedteacher

representativesatthetimenotobjectedtobyeitherparties)

5-memberexample:

� Supervisor

� AnacademicintheFacultyofEducationoflocalUniversity

� AmemberoftheJEBORaJesuitFather

� Analumnuswhoiseitheralawyerorajudge

� Teacher representative (a teacher from among the pool of elected teacher

representativesat the timenotobjected tobyeitherparties)OR theLegco

memberelectedfromtheeducationconstituencyORapersonnominatedby

thePTU

Appraisalsystem

Reports fromquite a number of groups in the staff discussion sessionon 10Mar,

2017 suggested that the school should improve its staff appraisal system.

Presumably,thiswillincreasetransparencyandobjectivityonhoweachstaffisbeing

evaluated, and, in so doing, reduce the staff's concern that major personnel

decisions(e.g.promotionsanddisciplinaryactions)arebeingunfair.Weappreciate

these comments and believe that the school should always be open to

improvementsinthisarea,whetherweturnDSSornot.

Financialinstabilityleadingtoconcernsaboutjobsecurity

Thehypotheticalcaseofthestaffbeingrequiredtocuttheirsalariesorevenbeing

laidoffifwedonothavesufficientenrolmentofstudentshasbeenraisedbysome

peopleandthishascertainlycausedalarmamongsomestaff.However,thosewho

conjecture such an extreme scenario have missed a number important facts and

factors.

41

Firstly,theJEBwillbeopentofeerevisionsiftherearegenuineneeds,suchaswhen

theschoolrunsintostructuraldeficit,tocovertheshortfall.Curapersonalisforthe

staff beingoneof theparameters setby JEB, it is unthinkable that the schoolwill

resorttopaycutsandlayoffstodealwithdeficits.

It is alsoworth noting that during the transitional period of the first five years of

switching to DSS, the government will ensure that we will not receive less

governmentsubsidyascomparedtothecaseifweareaided.Thatis,itwillmakeup

anyshortfallingovernmentfundingduringthisperiod.

In fact, theschoolshouldbeabletoaccumulatereservesovertheyearsandthese

(togetherwithotherprivatefundsoftheschool)willprovidecomfortablebufferfor

theschooleveniftheextremelyunlikely“worstcasescenario”happens.

To consider this extreme “worst case scenario” further, let us ask ourselves these

questions:

a) What is the risk of this happening vs. the other risks and challenges we have

explored including students’ SES, learner diversity/EMI status and need for extra

resources in various aspects of the school? What does the actual experience of

otherDSSschools,includingmanywhicharelessreputablethanWYHK,tellusabout

thelikelihoodofthis“worstcasescenario”happeningtoWYHK?

b)IfWYHKcanbecomethisunpopularevenwithadditionalresources,howcanwe

assumethatWYHKcandobetterifweremainaided?Andwilljobsbesecureunder

this“worstcasescenario”,evenifweareanaidedschool?

7.5WorkloadandTeachingQuality

Whileourteachersareverydedicatedandhardworking,itisundeniablethatiftheir

time can be used in a more focused way by reducing the number of tasks and

increasing administrative staff / TA support for non-teaching duties, the quality of

teaching and the extent that teachers find meaning in what they are doing will

increase. This is not just for their benefit, but also for our students. Thus, it is

intendedthatthemajorityoftheadditionalresourcesfromDSSshouldgotohiring

42

moreteachersandsupportingstafftosharethetasks.Forexample,thenumberof

periodsperweekmaybeslightlyreduced(leavingmoretimeforlessonpreparations

andassignmentmarkings)andthechancetoteachfewer“syllabi”27.

There aredifferent sources ofworkload including lessonsperweak,marking load,

lessonpreparationload,pupil-teacherratio,amountofandadminsupportfornon-

teachingduties,etc.PleaserefertoTable3fortherelationshipbetweenschoolfee

levelandapproximateaveragelessonsperweekandpupil-teacherratio.

7.6Otherissuesrelatingtoemploymentandworkingconditions

GiventheflexibilityunderDSS,thereareopportunitiestomodifycurrentconditions

providedanoptimalbalancewithotherfactorscanbestruck.Somepolicieswhich

areproposedunderDSS includemedical scheme to staff, spouseanddependents,

moreflexiblespecialleavearrangements,sabbaticalleaveforlongservingstaff.

ForteacherswhocanonlyhaveanMPFratherthanaprovidentfund(PF)account,

the schoolwill still contribute itspart as if the staff isworking in anaided school.

That is, it will increase its percentage contribution based on the number of years

servedfollowingthesameformulaforaidedschools.

Regarding retirement arrangements for teachers, we note that there are indeed

good teachers whose service we treasure and would like to retain beyond their

retirement age. However, itmust be introduced in away thatwill not affect the

promotion prospect of junior staff members. One way is to offer eligible retiring

teachersashortterm(renewable)contractwithalowersalary(e.g.mid-pointofGM

payforthoseperformingGMduties)andthepermanentpost(andifapplicable,the

promotionalpost) vacated shouldbeoffered to younger teachingmembersof the

school.

27Lesssubjectsand/orlesslevelsforthesamesubject.

43

Chapter8:FeelevelsandFinance

DSSschoolsreceivegovernmentsubsidybasedonthenumberofstudentsenrolled.

Basically,theperunitsubsidyforaDSSsecondaryschoolisequaltotheaverageunit

costofasecondaryschoolstudentinHongKong.Asschoolswithlongerhistoryhas

ahigheraverageunitcost,thegovernmentadoptsa"Two-AgeCategorySystem"so

that schools with 16 years' history or above will be entitled to a higher per unit

subsidy. Thisaverageunitcost takes intoaccountall thegrants receivedbyaided

secondaryschoolsexceptthosegrantsthattheDSSschoolswillreceiveseparately:

"ThegovernmentsubsidypayabletoDSSsecondaryschoolsiscalculatedintermsoftheaverageunitcostofanaidedsecondaryplace.Subsidieseligibletoaidedschoolswill also be eligible to DSS schools. Some of the grants (such as Salary Grant,ProvidentFund,OperatingExpensesBlockGrant,OtherChargesandSubjectGrants,DepreciationofFurniture&EquipmentandAmortisationofMajorRepairs,etc.)aresubsumed to the DSS subsidy. Others, such as the School-based Support SchemeGrant and Capacity Enhancement Grant are payable to eligible DSS schoolsseparately.(GovernmentSubsidyforDirectSubsidyScheme(DSS)SecondarySchools,

p.2)

DSSschoolshavetheflexibilitytochargeaschoolfee.Unlessthelevelisexceedingly

high28,thesubsidyperstudentbythegovernmentwillnotbereduced.Theschool

feechargedbyDSSschoolsinHongKongrangesfrom$0toabout$80,000peryear.

ForSeniorFormStreamteachingtheIBP,thefeescanbeevenhigher.

Ascomparison,the“TongFai”chargedbyAidedschoolsistypicallyseveralhundred

dollarsperyearwhileschoolfeeschargedbyprivateorinternationalschoolsrange

fromaround$100,000toover$300,000peryear.

8.1Factorstoconsiderwhendeterminingtheschoolfee

Intermsofschoolfeelevel,thefactorstoconsiderinclude:

• Amount of extra resources available to improve the quality of education and

staffworkingconditions.

28Thisisadjustedannuallyandinrecentyearsabove$100,000peryear.

44

• Thepercentageofstudentswhocanbenefitfromfeeremission–thehigherthe

fee, the more resources are available for fee remission for the less well-off

students.

• Financialstabilityandstakeholders'confidence– thehigher the fee, the lower

thefinancialrisk,andthegreatertheconfidencetoparentsandstaffintermsof

stabilityandlongtermsustainabledevelopment.

• Parentexpectations–thehigherthefee,thegreatertheexpectation.

• The image of the school – some argue that the fee level is an indication of

qualitysothehigherthefee,thehighertheperceivedqualityoftheschool.On

theotherhand,othersarguethatthehigherthefee,themore"exclusive"(��)

the schoolwill appear. Thismaydeter students fromgrassroots families from

applying.

• Theamountofreservetobeaccumulatedovertimetoprovideabufferagainst

financial instability and/or endowment for purposes such as worthwhile

educational/staff formation projects, major campus development projects,

financial support schemes for needy students, etc. – the higher the fee, the

quickerthecontingencyreservecanbebuiltup.

8.2Feestructure

AfterRoundOneConsultation,itisproposedthattheschoolfeesbesetasfollows:

• Juniorforms:$20,00029peryear

• Seniorforms:$23,000peryear

8.3Scenarioassumptions(atsteadystate)

Assumptions:

1.25%arereservedforfeeremissionsfortheneedywith10%assunkasrequiredby

theEDB,and15%asadditionalbudgetreleasableifunusedafter2years.

2.Averageprovidentfundforteacherstobecontributedbytheschoolassumedto

be12%ofteachersalary30.

3. Contingency to cover shortfall in subsidy under DSS as compared to grants

receivedundertheaidedmode31:$2,500,000peryear.

29Basedon2016/17Dollars

30Budgetforestablishmentteachersin2016/17isabout$36.8M.

45

4.Annualdonationsreceived:$0

5.NetadditionalDSSincometobeallocated:

a)60%onadditionalteachingstaffandstaffbenefits.

b)40%onadditional

� staffandprogramsforstudentsupport/development

� administrativesupport

� campusandfacilitiesmaintenance,managementanddevelopment

� reserveaccumulationforfuturecontingencies

6. Additional teachers employed with extra resources from DSS school fees are

assumedtobedividedintothreebroadcategories:

a)Contractteacheraveragemonthlysalary:$40,000

b)SeniororNETteachersaveragemonthlysalaryof$77,000.

7. Four Classes (EDB establishment) split into five (WYHK implementation) for all

Forms. Note thatWYOFF annual fundinghas not been factored intoour financial

model.Ifitisfactoredin,theconditionwillbeevenmorefavorable.

Basedontheseassumptions,thenunderthethreedifferentscenarios,theamount

ofadditionalresourcesforeachbroadcategorycanbefoundinthefollowingTable:

31Overallspeaking,thereshouldnotbeasignificantnetshortfallornetgainoverthelongrunforan

"average" DSS school as the DSS per unit subsidy covers all the relevant costs, calculated as an

average, that Hong Kong aided secondary schools receive. See quotation from EDB document

(“GovernmentSubsidyforDirectSubsidyScheme(DSS)SecondarySchools”)onp.40.However,there

areschool-specificfactorswhichmaycausetheschooltohaveahigherorlowerperunitcosts.One

factoroftenmentionedistheseniorityofteachers.Aschoolwithteacherswhohavemoreteaching

experiencemayhaveahigherperunitcost. Thegovernmenthaspartly takenthis intoaccountby

havinga"two-agecategorysystem"sothatschoolswith16years'historywillhaveahigherperunit

subsidy.

When arriving at this contingency provision, a simulation based on our 2016/17 budget has been

done.PleaseseeAppendix7.OnemaynotethatbasedoncurrentstudentenrolmentatWYHK,the

subsidyshortfallis$1,990,776.However,basedonourtargetenrolment(givenweshallsplit4classes

(EDBestablishment)into5classes(WYHKimplementation)acrosstheboard),therewillactuallybea

surplusof$1,059,582.Soprovisionof$2,500,000isrelativelyprudent.

46

Table3:Scenarioatsteadystateafterthe6-yeartransitionalperiod(figurestobeverified)

Schoolfee(peryear)

Grossfeeincomeattargetaverageclasssize

Netfeeincome(afterfeeremission,provisionsforsubsidyshortfallunderDSSfundingmodel,donations)

Usageofnetincomecollected Extrateachersemployed* EstimatedAveragelessonsperweekforteachers**(figureifWYOFFfundingcontinues)

EstimatedPupil-teacherratio**(figureifWYOFFfundingcontinues)

Amountonteachingstaffandadditionalstaffbenefits(60%)

Others(AdditionalallocationtoStudentsupport/development,adminsupport,campus/facilities,reserve)(40%)

No.ofadditionalcontractteachers

No.ofadditionalseniororNETteachers

$20,000(F.1-3)$23,000(F.4-6)

$18,225,000 $11,200,000 $6,720,000� $4,480,000� 12 1 23.6(21.8)

13.7(11.8)

*ThenumberofteachersinadditiontoprovisionsundertheAidedmode.Otherprivately-fundedposts(suchasthosefundedbyWYOFF)arenotassumedhere.Suchdonationsandprivatefundingcouldfurtherimprovethecondition.

**Asacomparison(andassumingnoWYOFFfundingasinthismodelforthesakeofprudence),ifweremainaided,a)thelessonsperweekwillgouptobetween26.6(nosplitclassesinjuniorforms)and30.3(sameextentofsplitclassinjuniorformsascurrentlypracticed)andb)thepupil-teacherratiowillbe16.8.

47

Chapter9:ConsultationofStakeholders

9.1Pre-consultationProposalDevelopmentStage(Done)

March2017hasbeendevotedtodevelopingtheformalDSSproposal forconsultationbasedonaproposalskeleton("beta"version).Inputsfromteachersandcoremembersofstakeholdershadbeensolicited.

9.2FormalConsultation(Round1)(Done)

TheRoundOneConsultationlastedfourmonthsfrom13April,2017to15August,2017.PleaserefertotheInterimConsultationReportavailableonourwebsite.

9.3FormalConsultation(Round2)

TheRoundTwoConsultationwill commenceon12October,2017with releaseof theInterim Consultation Report and the Revised Consultation Document/Proposal.Consultation Sessionswill be arranged. Stakeholdersplease refer toourwebsite forregistrations.

9.4Stakeholders’Surveys

After theRound2 Consultation,weplan to conduct surveys of stakeholder groups inaccordance with EDB requirements. The consultation report of this round will besubmittedtotheJEBforitsfinaldecision.

Regardinghowthissurveyistobedone,JEB’sviewsareasfollows:

i)Rigoroussurveyofstakeholders’views

The Society of Jesus, being the School Sponsoring Body (SSB), is charged with thecontinuedlegalandmoralresponsibilityofsponsoringandguidingthedirectionoftheschoolandshouldtryasfaraspossibletounderstandthediverseconcernsandviewsofdifferentstakeholders.Takingintoconsiderationtheseinputs,theSSBwillconsiderthe

48

matter conscientiously and thoroughly to make decisions that will lead the schoolforward towards the vision and mission of the school and the SSB in the best waypossible. This calls for a rigorous survey and serious considerations of differentstakeholders’ views both during and towards the endof the consultation period. TheSSB is of the opinion that a rigorous survey of stakeholders’ views should not beconfusedwitha“vote”bystakeholdersasthe latter isneitherpartof thegovernancestructure of the school nor a requirement of the EDB. We should also be wary ofencouraging a dualistic mindset for a complex issue that would require qualitativeunderstanding.

ii)Surveyquestions

ThepurposeofthesurveyistohelptheSSBmakeinformeddecisionssoitsdesignmustbe fit-for-purpose and be acceptable to the SSB. The opinion of stakeholders onwhethertheysupporttheschooltoswitchtothespecificformofDSSasoutlinedintheproposalisanimportantquestionthattheSSBisinterestedin.AstheremaybevariousfactorsregardingthedesignofDSSthatwouldaffectstakeholders’viewsonthematter,thesurveycouldconsistofquestionsonsuchfactorstoo.Sincedifferentstakeholdersmaybeconcernedaboutdifferent issues, it ispossiblethatdifferentsurveyformswillbeusedfordifferentstakeholdergroups.Intermsoflength,anexcessivelylongsurveyisundesirable. Wellwordedandunbiasedquestions thatarenotambiguousarealsoimportant. In this regard, inputs and advice from academics with expertise andexperienceinsocialsurveyswillbesought.

iii)Surveyprocess

As the SSB is serious about hearing the genuine views of stakeholders, the surveyprocesswillberigorouslyadministered. Adesignateddayorperiodwillbepickedforthepurpose. Noticeoftwoweeksormorewillbegiventostakeholders,andrelevantbodiessuchasthePastStudentsAssociation(PSA)andtheOverseasChaptersmightbeinvitedtohelpalertalumniofthissurveyandmonitorthesurveyprocess.

iv)Surveyresultsummary

TheSSBwillappointanindependentparty,suchasanauditorwithnobusinessdealingswiththeschool,tosummarizetheresultsofthesurvey.

9.5ApplicationandApproval

49

IftheJEBdecidestosubmitanapplication,itshoulddosobythedeadlineofFebruaryofeachyear.TheEDBwillnormallymakeitsdecisionwithin6months.Iftheapplicationisapproved,thentheDSSmodewillbeimplementedintheSeptemberatleastoneyearlater. Forexample, ifanapplication is submitted inFebruary20X1, then theEDBwillprovideananswerbyendofAugust20X1. Ifapproved,DSSwillbe implementedfromSeptember20X2onwards.

50

Chapter10:Conclusion

10.1DSScannotbeevaluatedintheabstract

UnliketheAidedmode,aDSSschoolcantakeonverydifferentshapesbecauseoftheflexibilitythatthisSchemeprovides.Soarationalandwell-informedevaluationofthedesirabilityandfeasibilityofWYHKadoptingtheDSSmodeisonlypossibleifwehaveanappropriatelevelofdetailaboutwhataDSS-WYHKwilllooklike.Thisdocumentaimstospelloutsomeoftheproposeddetailswhileinvitingstakeholderstocommentonthem,andtosuggestotherssothatwecanjointlyshapethefutureWYHKasweendeavortogofurtherandwidertoconsiderDSS.

10.2Howweconductourselvesisasimportantaswhattheendresultis

Howweconductourselves in thisdebateandexploration isas importantaswhat theend result is. Openness andunity in diversity are key featuresof Jesuit education atWah Yan. Such values, if held firmly, should help us go through the sometimesemotionally charged controversies surrounding the current exercise with clear-headednessandgoodwill,ultimatelyleadingtomutualunderstanding,compromiseandabetterWYHKforgenerationsofWahyanitestocome.

Admittedly, we may not always act in ways that meet such high standards. We areimperfecthumanbeingsafterall.ButtheliberaleducationatWahYandoesnotassumethatweareperfect.Whatitdoesassumeisourabilitytolearnthroughourexperiences,painfulorotherwise.Sothisisalsoajourneyoflearningandgrowth.

By bearing inmind these values and this openness to learn, it is hoped that we canemerge feelingproud thatwe can indeedhandle controversies, and feeling confidentthatwecanmoveonmoreunitedthanbeforewhenthisexplorationisconcluded.

51

Appendices

52

Appendix1:SchoolfeesofDSSSchoolswithsimilarbackgroundstoWYHKin2017/18

ThefollowingtableshowsschoolfeesperyearofschoolswithcomparablebackgroundstoWYHK,includingall7GrantSchoolswhichhaveturnedDSS:

F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6

DiocesanBoys'School 48650 48650 48650 48650 48650+ 48650+

DiocesanGirls'School 38000 38000 38000 38000 38000 38000

GoodHopeSchool* 35000 35000 35000 45000 45000 45000

HeepYunnSchool 33920 32000 32000 33000 33000 33000

St.Paul'sCo-educationalCollege 58000 58000 58000 58000 58000 58000

St.Paul'sCollege 40400 40400 40400 40400 40400 40400

St.Paul'sConventSchool 25000 25000 25000 27500 27500 27500

St.Stephen'sCollege* 68000 68000 68000 68000 68000 68000

YingWaCollege 19900 19900 19900 19900 19900 19900

Maximum 68000 68000 68000 68000 68000/99320

68000/99320

Minimum 19900 19900 19900 19900 19900 19900

Average 40763.3 40550 40550 42050 41225 41225

Note: *Non-GrantSchoolwithbackgroundssimilartoGrantSchools. +$99,320forIBDPinbothF.5andF.6.

53

Appendix2:StudentEnrolmentinPrimary6,2015

District 2015

CentralandWestern 1376WanChai 1775Eastern 2651Southern 1242YauTsimMong 2219ShamShuiPo 3110KowloonCity 4083WongTaiSin 2739KwunTong 3970SaiKung 2287ShaTin 4082TaiPo 1668North 2779YuenLong 4285TuenMun 2915TsuenWan 2034KwaiTsing 2976Islands 925

Total 47116

Gender 2015

Male 24267Female 22849

Total 47116

Note:Figuresrefertothepositionasat15September2015.

Source:EducationBureau(2016)StudentEnrolmentStatistics2015/16

54

Appendix3:SecondarySchoolPlacesAllocationSysteminHongKong

55

56

57

58

59

Appendix4:MedianMonthlyDomesticHouseholdIncomeofAllDomesticHouseholdsbyDistrictCouncilDistrict,2016

1. DistrictCouncil

District MedianMonthlyDomesticHouseholdIncome(HK$)

HongKongIsland 31,250

CentralandWestern 36,000

WanChai 37,750

Eastern 29,830

Southern 30,000

Kowloon 21,790

YauTsimMong 23,500

ShamShuiPo 20,000

KowloonCity 25,550

WongTaiSin 22,000

KwunTong 20,160

NewTerritories 25,000

KwaiTsing 21,600

TsuenWan 28,800

TuenMun 22,000

YuenLong 23,000

North 21,500

TaiPo 27,000

ShaTin 27,180

SaiKung 32,470

Islands 27,700

Alldistricts 25,000

Notethatthefiguresexcludedomestichouseholdslivingonboardvessels.Source:CensusandStatisticsDepartmentoftheHongKongSAR(2017)PopulationBy-censusSummaryResult

60

Appendix5:ProfessorChengKaiMing’sviewonHRneedsofschoolsinHongKong

61

Appendix6:ComparisonamongDSSSchoolswithsimilarbackgrounds32

School SSB/Religion B/G/Co-ed

History Annualfee33($)for2017/18

Curriculumchoices

Linkedprimaryschool?

Campus(sq.m.)

Remarks

DiocesanBoys'School

Protestant(SKH)

B 1869 48,650 DSE,IB Yes 50,000 Boardingoption

DiocesanGirl'sSchool

Protestant(SKH)

G 1860 38,000 DSE,GCE Yes 13,088

GoodHopeSchool

Catholic(MSIC)

G 1954 35,000-45,000

DSE Yes 13,676 MSIC:MissionarySistersoftheImmaculateConception

HeepYunnSchool

Protestant(SKH)

G 1936 32,000-33,920

DSE Yes 11,000

StPaul'sCo-edCollege

Protestant(SKH)

Co-Ed 1915 58,000 DSE,IB Yes 6,250

StPaul'sCollege Protestant(SKH)

B 1851 40,400 DSE Yes 6,000 French/Spanish(iGCSE)

StPaul'sConventSchool

Catholic(SSPC)

G 1854 25,000-27,500

DSE,GCE Yes 7,000 SSPC:SistersofSt.PauldeChartres

StStephen'sCollege

Protestant(SKH)

Co-Ed 1903 68,000 DSE,IB Yes 150,000 Boardingoption

TakSunSecondarySch

Catholic B 2000 22,000 DSE Yes 12,000

YingWaCollege Protestant(HKCCCC)

B 1818 19,900 DSE Yes 13,000

WahYanCollege,HK

Catholic(SJ) B 1919 20,000orless

DSE Yes 22,000

32BasedonschoolfeecertificatefromEducationBureau(http://applications.edb.gov.hk/schoolsearch/schoolsearch.aspx?langno=1)�33Someschoolschargehigherfeesforseniorforms.ExtrafeesforIBprogrammesnotincluded(e.g.FeeforIBprogrammeatDBSin2017/18is:F.5&6-$99,320)

62

Appendix7:Financialsimulationbasedon2016/17

Underaidedsystem:Totalgovernmentgrant(excludingSchool-basedSupportSchemeGrantandCapacityEnhancementGrantpayableseparately)=$50,801,313(assumeaverageof12%ofsalaryasProvidentFundcontributedbythegovernment)DSSSubsidy34(basedoncurrentenrolment)SeniorForm:123perFormX3FormsX$67,80135=$25,018,569JuniorForm:144perFormX3FormsX$55,07436=$23,791,968Total=$48,810,537Subsidyshortfall=$48,810,537-$50,801,313=($1,990,776)DSSSubsidy(basedonprojectedenrolment37)SeniorForm:125perFormX3FormsX$67,801=$25,425,375JuniorForm:16038perFormX3FormsX$55,074=$26,435,520Total=$51,860,895Subsidysurplus=$51,860,895-$50,843,880=$1,059,582

34"ThegovernmentsubsidypayabletoDSSsecondaryschoolsiscalculatedintermsoftheaverageunitcostofanaidedsecondaryplace.SubsidieseligibletoaidedschoolswillalsobeeligibletoDSSschools.Someofthegrants(suchasSalaryGrant,ProvidentFund,OperatingExpensesBlockGrant,OtherChargesandSubjectGrants,DepreciationofFurniture&EquipmentandAmortisationofMajorRepairs,etc.)aresubsumedtotheDSSsubsidy.Others,suchastheSchool-basedSupportSchemeGrantandCapacityEnhancementGrantarepayabletoeligibleDSSschoolsseparately.(GovernmentSubsidyforDirectSubsidyScheme(DSS)SecondarySchools,p.2)

35Perstudentsubsidyforseniorformsofschoolswith16years'historyorhigher.

36Perstudentsubsidyforjuniorformsofschoolswith16years'historyorhigher.

37Withsmallerclassesacrosstheboardbydividing4classes(EDBestablishment)into5classes(WYHKimplementation).Currentclasssize:36.DSSclasssize:32.

385classesof32each.