Human beings are superior to all creatures on this planet. We have the most advanced brains to create, to memorize, to make moral choices, and most importantly, to construct collective forces. Human beings are not alone. We need to work with each other and combine intellectual efforts to do a task. We call this collaboration. When problems are too complex for an individual to handle alone, we share ideas and collaborate to accomplish shared goals.

"Two heads are better than one." The concept of collaboration has long been deemed an essential factor to succeed in business. This recursive process allows two or more entities to share their thoughts and come up with shared goals. Collaboration is a two-way transmission. There are times to express your ideas, and times to listen to what others have to say. Then we cooperate and make a good plan. With a common goal, co-workers should be excited yet responsible to complete their tasks.

Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah's 2013-14 budget speech last month included the notable remark: "I am also middle class". Despite Tsang's desire to persuade the public that he understood the middle class and his budget contained appropriate measures to make a difference to the society, many people gave him the thumbs-down. Did the poor performance of the government stem from the incapability of Tsang's "one head"? Was it really so challenging to deliver a budget with new thinking?

There were no pleasant surprises for Hong Kong people in this prudent and conservative budget. While the middle class were complaining about paltry handouts, the education sector was once again let down by the proposed educational measures. Most of us in educational circles expected Tsang to take advantage of the healthy surplus in the government account to improve education and optimize human capital. To my surprise, total investment on education has been bewilderingly reduced.

Government funding for education has been highly inadequate in recent years. Despite gains in the government's reserve, which now totals more than HK$730 billion, a reduction of HK$900 million on education funding was announced in the budget. Tsang's decision to further cut back spending defied all expectations. As the government spends less on schools, the schools have fewer resources to improve the working environment, making teaching a less attractive career option for graduates. How are we teachers able to pass the torch when we come to retire?

Looking overseas, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, all take education very seriously. They believe education plays a vital role in the development of a country or region, and should never be overlooked. Soldiers, civil servants and teachers in those countries and regions share the same status in society and are viewed as "treasures". They are treated with special benefits provided by the government, such as special mortgage programs, housing allowances, and New Year's bonuses, etc. The number of teaching periods per teacher is set at a manageable level to ensure quality teaching, and for language teachers, the workload is limited to teaching one to two classes to provide specialized teaching.

Tsang, in his budget, attempted to attract top students to the profession with a new HK$480 million fund. This sum of money will go towards setting up a scholarship seed fund to support outstanding students (20 per year) who wish to study overseas. There are restrictions with this seemingly unattractive policy. Recipients will be required to teach in Hong Kong for two years after they graduate. And if they fail to meet the requirement, they will have to refund the money and are not allowed to teach in private schools or tutorial centers during the period. When many of us were expecting the government officials to take into consideration the opinion of the frontline teachers, they introduced these far-from-sufficient awards in response.

If the government had ever tried to listen to the voices of frontline teachers and put their heads together, they should have realized the necessity of providing training to current teachers, improving the teaching environment, and relieving stress at schools. Instead of providing funds to attract top students, the government should improve the working condition of teachers with more long-term measures. Perhaps now is the time for government officials to consult educational voices and collaborate. After all, two heads are better than one.

The author is vice-chairman of Education Convergence.

(HK Edition 03/27/2013 page9)