University funding 'guarantees mediocrity'
The government's funding policy for higher education is a guarantee of mediocrity, according to Tsui Lap-chee, vice-chancellor of the University of Hong Kong.
Professor Tsui, who has won worldwide acclaim for his research into cystic fibrosis, said the policy had resulted in egalitarianism and failed to encourage the search for excellence.
'I have told Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, frankly, that there are too many regulations in Hong Kong, guaranteeing mediocrity, while there are too few initiatives to encourage excellence in the tertiary education sector.'
Of the money allocated to universities every three years, 75 per cent is given out according to student numbers. The remaining 25 per cent varies according to research performance.
In a consultation paper released two years ago, the University Grants Committee recommended that a small number of tertiary institutions be 'strategically identified' as the focus of public and private sector support to help them achieve world-class status.
'I'm sure that our university is one of the few institutions which have the strength to develop into world-class universities, but yet our hands are bound by stringent funding policy,' Professor Tsui said.
The university also hopes that in 10 years, 20 per cent of its students will come from outside Hong Kong to make it more competitive with leading institutions on the mainland such as Peking University and Tsinghua University.
'There are less than 7 million people in Hong Kong while the mainland has a population of 1.3 billion,' he said.
'Given our narrow population base, even the top 0.1 per cent of applicants for local university places are no match for the top students on the mainland.'
Professor Tsui also said the university was planning to relax regulations to allow teaching staff to work more in the community.
'Such a move can help retain talent and let our staff contribute their expertise to our society.'
He said applicants wishing to do more in the community must get prior approval and the activities should not affect their work at the university. .
Professor Tsui said he appreciated public concern over Hong Kong students being crowded out of subsidised university places by non-locals, but he saw no problem in admitting extra non-local students if they could seek financial resources on their own.
The cap on the first-year non-local intake admitted by Hong Kong's universities is due to be doubled from 4 per cent to 8 per cent from September, with those under the extra quota having to meet higher fees than locals.
He said the university was planning to build new teaching facilities and hostels in the west of its Pokfulam campus to accommodate international students.
