THE City University of Hong Kong must be congratulated for proposing to end the automatic annual pay rise for senior university staff and replace it with yearly performance appraisals.
If the recommendations are accepted, it will end the 'iron rice bowl' syndrome. This is long overdue and should be extended to other University Grants Committee (UGC) funded institutions. Persistent poor performers must not be rewarded.
But to make the appraisal system acceptable to the staff who may resist the change, it must be fair and transparent. My criticisms of the lack of accountability and openness at universities have stirred up a hornets' nest.
As I have said, scholarship and teaching are integral parts of any tertiary education institution. Scholarship includes research aimed at increasing knowledge. This is usually reflected by publishing in peer-reviewed reputable journals.
To ensure one does not do so for the sake of it, the publication of quality academic papers with the highest impact must be the ultimate goal. 'Publish or perish' has no place in great centres of learning.
Since 1991, an increasing amount of public funds has been allocated to the seven UGC-funded institutions. In 1995-1996, the recurrent expenditure is $9.1 billion. The question is whether there is anything to show for the money spent. How many significant breakthroughs originating in local universities have appeared in top international journals? The last time Hong Kong was mentioned in a top journal like Nature was in relation to the plagiarism case at Hong Kong University (HKU), and how the university rejected the High Court's findings.
Professor John Biggs, former head of the Department of Education at HKU, noted sardonically: 'Academics in Hong Kong are seen as expensive call-girls, well paid to be sure, but to perform on cue.' Professor Biggs appeared to suggest that only research with local flavour is encouraged. Thus the research is esoteric and considered unsuitable for publication by top journals. If this was the case, the academic community should challenge such a policy.