University chiefs reject four-year degree call
'Introducing the scheme early by extending the admission of sixth formers would be disruptive and need extra funding'
University chiefs have rejected a call to introduce four-year university degrees early by taking in more Form Six students under the Early Admission Scheme (EAS), currently reserved for those with top scores in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination.
They adopted the view at a Heads of Universities Committee meeting this week. Convenor of the committee, Paul Chu Ching-wu, who is president of the University of Science and Technology, said after the meeting that expanding the early entry scheme was a separate issue from speeding up the introduction of four-year degrees.
He stressed that additional resources were needed to implement a four-year system.
'There is also a need for discussions between universities and schools on articulation of secondary school studies and university programmes, and with the government on resource implications,'' said Professor Chu.
Expanding the EAS was raised by education chief Arthur Li Kwok-cheung last week as a way to introduce four-year degrees earlier than 2013, the year proposed by the Education Commission.
But he said the government still planned to cut university budgets by 10 per cent next year.
Poon Chung-kwong, president of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said universities should take the lead in bringing in structural reform in the system but increased resources were necessary for that to happen.
'Given that the government has been cutting university funding in recent years, the 10 per cent cut is going to put us in an even more difficult position,' he said.
Yeung Sum, chairman of the Legislative Council education panel, called on the government not to speed up the introduction of four-year degrees without adequate funding.
'You need additional resources to bring in four-year degrees. It is a social investment for a knowledge-based society,'' he said.
The English Medium Schools Association has reservations about the government's plan for six years of secondary and four of university education. Chairwoman Rosalind Chan Lo-sai said: 'In our secondary schools we have very intense training in Forms Six and Seven. If we cut that back a lot of people will lose out and very few would gain. We are rushing too quickly to a US model,' she said. 'We have idealists who take US education as the role model.' In the US, she said, students did not learn much at secondary school but spent longer at university. To give them equal opportunities, the majority went on to tertiary education. But unlike in Hong Kong, large numbers dropped out.
The number of university places here should be increased should the US model be adopted, she said, because of the large number of students who could qualify under one exit examination for all secondary school students.
'Fine selection of students specialising in areas such as medicine or law begins at the end of the first degree in the US,' she said.
Ms Chan added that the government should consolidate its plans for tertiary education before reducing the secondary curriculum.
'At the moment we are very solid. Our students are prized overseas because they have been given a solid foundation.'
She said more students going on to university after Form Six would be detrimental to schools. Once students had their places they would no longer need to study and could demoralise the rest. Schools would also need special resources to cater for them.
'I am concerned about it. It is very disruptive,' she said.
