Critics fear education will be a commodity
Legislators, academics and student leaders yesterday expressed fears the government was about to turn higher education into a commodity by opening it up to competition from institutions in the World Trade Organisation.
'Education ... is the most important part of our budget and should not be opened up to outside interests,' said Chan Che-wai, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Higher Education Staff Associations, at a special meeting of the Legislative Council's education panel.
However, officials said the concerns were unfounded as the government was not planning to make any new commitments to the General Agreement on Trade in Services when it prepared its revised offers at the end of the month.
Negotiations on the agreement are expected to conclude at the end of this year or early next year.
Deputy Secretary for Education and Manpower Betty Fung Ching Suk-yee said publicly funded university courses would not be affected and the tertiary market was already open to courses run by private operators from overseas.
Education legislator Cheung Man-kwong said he did not see any need for further liberalisation of the sector and was concerned about the effect commercialisation was having on universities.
Education panel legislators yesterday gave approval for the Education and Manpower Bureau to raisesenior secondary school fees by $350.
From September, school fees will be $5,670 for Form Four and Form Five students and $9,450 for Form Six and Form Seven.
