It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to   present  this   Foreword  for  our 2004-2005 Annual Report, the third since my appointment as Chairman of the Council in April 2003.

The 2004-05 academic year was an eventful and testing year for the Institute, marked both by excellent academic advancement as well as daunting challenges. During this time, I am very pleased to be able to report that the Council, management, staff and students worked closely together, demonstrating great resolve and strength in the continuing pursuit of our vision and ideals.

The Institute has long been developing collaborative programmes with many of its local and international counterparts, which take the forms of student and staff exchanges, as well as sharing of knowledge and materials. Pursuant to the Council's directive, as described in our Annual Report last year, in exploring and examining the feasibility  and  desirability  of  forming  an  in-depth
collaboration with other tertiary institutions in Hong Kong, the Institute took a huge step forward in this direction. All the planning and hard work finally came to fruition in early July 2005, with the signing of an "Agreement on Deep Collaboration" between the Institute and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

During the year, the Institute also coped with a number of trying problems. Of these, the Government's proposal for a 33% cut in the 2005-08 funding came as a severe blow for a young institution like the HKIEd. I relayed the Institute's grave concern on the matter, by writing to the Secretary for Education and Manpower, Professor Arthur Li, and the Chairman of the University Grants Committee, Dr Alice Lam, in January 2005. Subsequently, the management, staff and student representatives also made representations to the Legislative Council Panel on Education in January and February 2005. Notwithstanding the fact that the funding cut was still approved and implemented, the Council was very appreciative of the fact that the various initiatives made by staff and students, to express their concerns on the future prospects of teacher education in Hong Kong, were conducted in a reasonable and responsible manner.
As a result of these funding cuts, the management took on the arduous task of introducing a Voluntary Departure Scheme and a Compulsory Redundancy Scheme for the academic staff. Throughout this difficult process, the management maintained constant communications with staff, by having consultations which sought to ensure the exercise was conducted in a transparent manner, and that the staff would have a clear understanding of the entire issue.

In parallel with this development, the Institute began the implementation of the new academic structure together with a salary de-linking proposal. With regard to the former, I must commend the management and the senior academic staff members, for their strategic and meticulous planning to successfully introduce the new structure in September 2005. With regard to the salary de-linking proposal which was still under consultation at the time when this report was written, I am confident that the management will carefully thrash out the details - drawing references from other tertiary institutions, tracking the latest market situation and maintaining an on-going dialogue with staff.

In concluding this message, I would like to take this opportunity to show my appreciation to two Council Members, namely Mr Anthony Wu Ting-yuk and Professor Anna Kindler who resigned from the Council during the year, as well as the hard work done by retiring Council Members, Mr Cheng Chung-hang and Mrs Carol Tang Chan Ka-lok. The Council joins me in extending a warm welcome to Miss Catherine Yen Kai-shun, Dr Gregory Thomas and Mr Victor Cheng Pat-leung, who took office in 2004-05. I look forward to working with them on the Council.

I firmly believe that with the knowledge, dedication and concerted efforts of members of the Council and the Institute community, we will surmount the many difficulties ahead as we map out strategies for improving teacher education, which will benefit the entire community of Hong Kong today, as well as our future generations.


 
Thomas K Leung, BBS, JP
Chairman of the Council