From Preschool Vouchers to Free Quality Preschool Education: A Self-Examination of An Imperfect Policy--Taking Hong Kong as An Example

The importance of early childhood education is increasing day by day, and the issue of low accessibility to early childhood education caused by insufficient family payment ability has received widespread attention. The Hong Kong Education Bureau has also been continuously improving and adjusting its financial policies for early childhood education to enhance its accessibility and fairness. However, the problem of insufficient coverage and not high degree of funding still exists. This article analyzes the differences between the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS) implemented by the Hong Kong Education Bureau from the 2007/08 to 2016/17 academic years and the Kindergarten Education Scheme (Scheme) implemented from the 2017/18 academic year onwards. This article analyzes the factors that need to be considered when adjusting and improving existing educational fiscal policies. Based on this, this article proposes the following suggestions: Adhere to a "problem oriented" approach, and the development of education plans should focus on solving their problems; Adhere to the principle of "having reason and evidence", and adjust the content of education plans based on evidence and transparency; Adhere to the principle of "self-reflection", and the implementation process of educational plans should be subject to long-term supervision and timely reflection.