Road ahead still unclear for HKIEd
The Hong Kong Institute of Education was set up just over a decade ago to play a crucial role in the upgrading of teacher education, particularly at the primary and kindergarten levels that had been largely ignored by other universities.
It was created out of five former teacher education colleges which, just a few years before, had still been recruiting school leavers out of Form Five. Initially its programmes were all at sub-degree level.
Under its former director Ruth Hayhoe and its current president Paul Morris it has made huge leaps forward, to become a university in all but name. It was supported by government policy at the time - when bureaucrats had woken up to the fact that getting the teaching of little children right was crucial to the rest of their education.
In 2004 the University Grants Committee gave it its blessing as a self-accrediting institution - the vital recognition of its quality necessary for a university. Its graduates, now degree or postgraduate degree holders except in early childhood education, are winning praise from employers.
Yet despite all this it is no secret that HKIEd has failed to win the support of the one institution that really matters - the current government. The reasons are unclear. Worryingly, the fact that its leaders have allowed its academics to speak their minds on issues such as small-class teaching may be among them. And there is also the merger issue - that an arranged marriage with Chinese University has been on the cards, and on terms that the HKIEd does not like.
Professor Morris put his cards on the table this week, two weeks before the council votes on his reappointment. If the council proceeds with a full merger he would resign, because he cannot accept that this is in the best interests of Hong Kong education.
The council chairman has reiterated its policy that until 2011 the relationship with CUHK will be one of 'deep collaboration', not merger. But staff at both institutions suspect this is not the whole story and the way for merger would be cleared by not reappointing Professor Morris.
The HKIEd is unusual in that its council members are all appointed by government, except staff and student representatives who have no voting powers over their leaders' appointments. This is an extraordinary anomaly. The most recent appointment, in the last few weeks, was a professor from CUHK's Faculty of Education.
Academics beyond Hong Kong are worried about government's unusual influence in who runs the HKIEd and thereby of deeper academic freedom there.
The anomaly is enshrined in legal statute. Maybe the upgrading of the institute is not so complete after all. It can only be truly university-level if its governance is independent from political influence too.
