HKU set to offer joint degrees to provide teachers
Combining English with education will give students a broader choice of careers and help train language tutors
The University of Hong Kong will help meet an expected strong demand for English teachers by launching joint degrees in English and education.
The new four-year programme, to be launched in the 2005 to 2008 triennium, subject to funding from the University Grants Committee, will be run alongside the current Bachelor of Education courses.
The new offer will involve a limited number of education courses in the first three years and practical training in the final year.
Mark Bray, dean of HKU's Faculty of Education, expects the new programme, which has an initial intake of 80, to be popular as it gives students a more flexible career choice. Another 40 places will be provided for a new joint degree programme in science and education.
'The government is determined to have more trained teachers of English with strong subject knowledge, in addition to the pedagogical knowledge,' he said.
Part of the reason for the growing demand was the limited pass rate in the language benchmark tests and an expected rise in the number of secondary schools switching to English as the medium of instruction at senior forms.
The plan for a three-plus-three secondary structure would exacerbate the demand, he added.
His faculty was also planning to increase its intake for its BEd programme, probably at the expense of places for its postgraduate certificate programme which had suffered a decrease in applicants.
The current BEd in language education programme lasts four years but only has 38 places, half of which are for English majors and the other half for Chinese.
Professor Bray said his faculty wanted to keep the programme for the time being because of its strong reputation. He also acknowledged the many advantages of the BEd training.
'Graduates have had four years of enculturation in the education profession, as opposed to one year. We have always said you don't change people's lives easily within one year,' he said.
Baptist University is considering offering the same joint degree, according to head of its Department of Education Studies, Alex Fung Chi-wah, and the Hong Kong Institute of Education is also exploring the idea in conjunction with other institutions.
In September, HKU will launch a new five-year civil engineering and law programme, in addition to the three joint programmes it currently offers.
Polytechnic University is making similar moves. It is seeking UGC approval for eight four-year joint degree courses in areas such as design and marketing, engineering and business.
Vice-president Philip Yeung Kwok-wing said more flexible training was important in today's society.
'Our society is changing. Graduates today are likely to change to various fields during their career instead of being confined to one. For example, it is possible for an engineering graduate to move into marketing later in his career,' he said.
But students opting for the courses would have to pay fees of about $60,000 in their final year because the government only funded three-year studies, Professor Yeung said.
