The Colleges of Education Joint Selection Board ("the Board") was created in 1971 to centralize the selection of students for the Full-Time Two-Year Courses offered by Northcote College of Education, Grantham College of Education and Sir Robert Black College of Education. The scope of the Board's responsibilities and research undertakings broadened with the introduction of new courses and the joining of new member. For example, in 1980, the Board began to administer for the selection of the Two-Year Part-Time In-Service Course of Training for Kindergarten Teachers, the Initial Course of Teacher Training (Primary) for Special School Teachers and the Two-Year Part-Time In-Service Course of Training for Teachers of Handicapped Children, in addition to the selection of all full-time courses. As from 1985/1986, the Hong Kong Technical Teachers' College also became a member of the Board, and since then the Board had to manage the selection of all full-time and part-time courses of the four Colleges as the overarching administrative machinery. In 1989, there was a review of the responsibility of the Board. It was felt that the Board should only be concerned with the selection of students of the full-time courses and those part-time courses which accord qualified teacher status and were common courses in the four Colleges. Thus the selections for courses for Special Education, Kindergarten, and the Refresher and Retraining Courses were no longer included.

The Board was supported and assisted by its subsidiary committees which comprised all professional staff members of the four Colleges in the smooth mounting of all joint selection exercises. Membership of the Board included Principals of the four Colleges, who took turns to serve as the Chairman in each reporting year; and representative(s) of the Assistant Director (Further Education Division), Chairpersons of Committees, appointed members, and a secretary. They held board meetings to monitor, direct and evaluate the selection exercises throughout the year. The Board underwent some restructuring in 1989 and set up committees to look after the different aspects of the selection exercises. The professional staff members of the four Colleges, on the other hand, were organised into various Executive Committees, a Research and Statistics Unit and various Subject Advisory Committees, and carried out the execution of the selection procedures in accordance with the Board policies. Apart from involving in the selection of students which took place at various times of the year, the professional staff members also had to concurrently involve in their regular programmes of lecturing at their own Colleges and supervising students of both the full-time and part-time courses in practical teaching.

The selection exercises had always been done manually but in September 1992, in collaboration with the Information Technology Services Department, the joint selection exercise was computerised to streamline and standardise the selection of students, though only for the Full-Time Two-Year and Three-Year Courses of Initial Teacher Education 1992-93.