RECENTLY, an External Examiner from Australia told me: "HKIEd students that I have observed are confident and their students are responsive to them. They enjoy teaching and this makes them good teachers."

On another occasion, when an overseas exchange student and a mainland student were interviewed by the press, they were full of praise for the Institute, our teaching staff and the way that education was connected to them at the HKIEd.

It's natural to feel gratified by such anecdotal remarks, but as President of the Institute, which is the main provider of trained local teachers, I am constantly asking myself: "how well does the Institute actually perform?" To answer this question we need reliable and objective data, not just anecdotal reports.