Kindergarten principals, teachers and parents are basically satisfied with the pre-primary education voucher system, but most of them would like the government to eventually make the education free, a new survey has revealed.

Under the voucher system, parents are given HK$10,000 to pay tuition fees at approved kindergartens, and another HK$3,000 is used for the professional development of teachers.

The survey, conducted by the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Education, selected 10 percent of all kindergartens in the city.

About 52.3 percent of the interviewees said the voucher system was fair, and 79.4 percent said the system was important for early children education development.

In addition to raising schools' accountability and the professionalism of teachers, 30.4 percent of parents who responded to the survey said the vouchers relieved some of their financial burden, and the money saved could be used on other activities for their children.

Yung Hau-heung, a principal and member of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union, said the vouchers show that the government supports early childhood education. However, she said: "It also raises several problems."

Under the system, approved kindergartens have five years to reach the Education Bureau's benchmarks for pre-primary school quality.

For instance, starting in the 2009-10 school year, principals such as Yung must have a degree in early childhood education, and teachers must obtain a certificate in early childhood education by the end of the 2011-12 school year.

About 33.6 percent of those polled expressed concern over the fulfillment of the requirement.

"Schools now have to handle heavy administrative work, while teachers feel stressed in receiving training after a whole-day of work," Yung said. "It makes it hard for teachers to find a balance between work and their own families."

She added that although the government offered a subsidy to hire supporting teachers to assist with the heavier schoolwork, the market supply was tight.

HKU education assistant professor Hui Li was one of the 94 percent polled who believe free early children education should be offered in the next five years, when most of the private independent kindergartens have switched to not-for-profit ones.

"Due to the low transparency of private kindergartens, the government would not know where the subsidy goes," he said.

The Education Bureau was pleased to see those interviewed were satisfied with the voucher system, and the bureau stressed that teachers are being given ample time to obtain certification.

"We will review the voucher system in the 2011-12 school year," a bureau spokesperson said.

(HK Edition 01/25/2008 page1)