Starting from mid-January, members of the panels have been visiting some of the nominated schools to gain a clearer understanding of their good education practices and performance.
The Chairman of the QEFSC, Mr Irving Koo Yee-yin said: "Processing of nominations is now in full swing. However, as we announced at the launch of the OSA scheme, we are handling the nominations in batches on a first-come-first-served basis because of the overwhelming response."
The Chairman of the Sub-group on OSA, Dr Cheung Wing-ming pointed out that the adjudicators considered and handled each nomination in the most professional and thorough manner.
"We will definitely not sacrifice quality for quantity, despite the large number of nominations received and the heavy workload involved. We hope to complete processing 50 to 60 nominations in the current academic year to release the results of the first batch of nominations in July this year," Dr Cheung said.
The QEF secretariat has received more than 300 nominations. In order to expedite processing of all the cases, we plan to employ some Resident Adjudication Specialists to help speed up processing the nominations. We will immediately start processing the remaining nominations progressively after finalising the results of the first batch.
"There are currently about 10 adjudicators on each Adjudication Sub-panel. Due to the huge amount of supplementary evidence submitted by the schools nominated, the adjudicators have to spend a lot of time to process the evidence. Therefore, we now plan to employ some experienced front-line educators and experts to work in the Sub-panels, in order to speed up processing the outstanding cases. But a detailed work schedule and timetable for individual schools are not yet available at this stage," Mr Koo said.
"The OSA scheme is not a competition among schools. Each school nominated will be assessed on its own merits and will be commended or awarded for its outstanding performance. Hence, the order of processing the nominations will not affect a school's chance of being awarded," Dr Cheung stressed.
Four Adjudication Sub-panels have been set up for the OSA scheme. They are responsible respectively for four education domains on management and organisation, teaching and learning, support for students and school ethos, and students' attainment. Each case will be assessed by a team of four to five members.
The Sub-panel memberships are as follows:
| Adjudication Sub-panel on Management and Organisation | |
| Heads: | Dr Cheung Wing-ming, Dr Ng Kwok-hung. |
| Members: | Ms Chan Chiu-chun, Mr Chan Kai-yeen, Mrs Lilian Chan, Mrs Chow Zee-lisu, Sister Josephine Kam, Mr Patrick Lai, Dr Leung Ping-wa, Mrs Cecilia Tsang. |
| Adjudication Sub-panel on Teaching and Learning | |
| Heads: | Heads: Professor John Lee, Mrs Sylvia Cheung. |
| Members: | Dr Chong Lap-chun, Mrs Judy Chua, Mr Koo Chao-ming, Ms Kwok Chor-kiu, Dr Simon Leung, Ms Helen Tang, Mr Yeung Veng-meng, Mrs Grace Yung. |
| Adjudication Sub-panel on Support for Students and School Ethos | |
| Heads: | Mrs Susanna Tsoi, Dr Howard Cheng. |
| Members: | Ms Eva Chan, Mr Cheung Chi-hung, Mr Law Kai-hong, Mr Leung Chung-wan, Ms Tao Chee-ying, Sister Margaret Wong, Mr Yau Yat-heem, Ms Yeung Chui-chun, Mr Yung Ka-kui. |
| Adjudication Sub-panel on Students' Attainment | |
| Heads: | Professor Lee Wing-on, Mrs Ruth Lau. |
| Members: | Ms Liu Kwong-bing, Mr Henry Lo, Mr Tam Kwok-hung, Mr Wong Kwok-chiu, Mr Michael Wong, Ms Priscilla Yeung, Ms Yu Pui-ling. |