It is my pleasure to write the foreword for the Annual Report 2001-2002, the eighth since the establishment of the Institute in 1994. Several significant milestones have been reached in the past year which have served to accelerate the process of upgrading. After four years of intensive internal and external validation exercises, the Institute offers, as of June 2002, 12 programmes at degree and postgraduate levels. The successful validation of these courses, by the Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation, reflects the strength of our programmes and teaching staff. Our first cohort of Four-year Full-time Bachelor of Education (Honours)(Primary) [BEd(P)] graduates joined the teaching profession in September this year. In addition, two innovative collaborative degrees were developed with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University respectively. All of these programmes have been well-received judging from the large ratio of applicants to places and from the rapidly improving credentials of those admitted. Our degree programmes combine an emphasis on subject expertise and pedagogy to ensure that we prepare professionals who are committed to improving the quality of teaching and learning.

Despite the continued economic downturn, the employment statistics obtained in early 2002 were very encouraging, with 91.8% of our first cohort of Two-year Full-time BEd graduates obtaining employment in full-time teaching posts, and 97.8% of our Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) graduates securing full-time employment.

Hong Kong has hitherto benefited from a diversified higher education system. Under the University Grants Committee (UGC), the distinctive yet complementary roles of the institutions have worked well and we consider that the Institute's distinctive role in focusing on teacher education and engaging in strategic collaborations with local tertiary institutions should be maintained and strengthened.

Following the Higher Education Review by the UGC, there has been much debate about the role of tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. Our Council, staff and students endorse the need for a diversity of institutions with distinctive missions and see the evolution of the Institute into a self-accrediting university-level institution as the optimal path of development. The Institute is the only UGC-funded institution dedicated to teacher education, offering programmes which encompass early childhood, primary, secondary, technical and special education for pre-service student teachers, in-service teachers and principals. I am delighted to report that the initial feedback from the first Teaching and Learning Quality Process Review of the Institute undertaken by the UGC in June 2002 was extremely positive. It indicated that the HKIEd has made commendable progress and is well positioned to move further forward.

Since its establishment in 1994, the Institute has provided Hong Kong with the majority of its pre-service teachers as well as a considerable proportion of the provision for in-service teacher education. This pivotal role is crucial to the ongoing preparation of teachers who are capable of meeting the demands of the education reforms, and the implementation of the Government's goal that all new entrants to the teaching profession be graduates and be trained. Professionally trained teachers are needed to ensure the continual improvement of the quality of schooling and to enhance the professionalisation of teaching. A central feature of the Institute's development is our focus on working in partnership with schools and stressing the centrality of field-based experience.

To this end, our Council has ensured that the development of the Institute's infrastructure matches its professional and academic objectives. In November 2001, the Hong Kong Institute of Education HSBC Early Childhood Learning Centre was officially opened, enrolling 140 children aged up to six. This centre highlights our commitment to high quality early childhood education and the promotion of innovative teaching practices.