Delay forcing a panic choice

ADELAY in announcement under an education admission scheme is forcing students to opt for alternative study choices rather than be left with nothing in the end.

Introduced in February last year, the Joint Admission Scheme for Polytechnics, Technical Institutes and Colleges (JASPIC) processes applications for admission to full-time sub-degree courses at the two polytechnics and nine technical institutes and colleges.

Each Form Five or Seven graduate was invited to list a maximum of 12 non-degree study courses, following the August 9 release of the HKCEE results. The first round of offers was announced last Saturday.

Form Five graduate Cecilia Kwok Shuk-yu chose Lee Wai Lee Technical Institute's Child Care course as her first choice under JASPIC, but has decided to take Tourism Business at Bianchi of Caritas Hong Kong before the offers are made known.

'I am anxious, and do not want to wait till the offers are announced. I am frightened I will get no offer at all from any school,' she told Young Post.

Cecilia said fear of being 'left behind' had forced her to look for alternatives.

'I like both the subjects I have chosen, but Bianchi accepted me at my interview, while I don't know if I'll get a first choice place through JASPIC.' Echoing Cecilia was Francin Au Kin-chung, who chose Hong Kong Polytechnic's Hotel and Catering course as first choice, but is taking Hotel and Beverage at the Vocational Training Centre in Kowloon Bay.

'It takes too long for the offers to be announced,' she said. 'At first I thought it would be a good idea to start some other course until I had an offer. But now I'm not sure that I want to give up my studies here at the VTC. It's going to be a difficult decision.' A spokesman of a technical institute admitted the procedure for shortlisting under the JASPIC was taking longer than before.

'We used to have our own schedule for student admission, and we were able to inform students a week earlier,' he said.

The spokesman added, however, that the centralised scheme prevented the problem of a small number of students holding several places at different institutes, and thus avoiding wastage of places.

'In a way, the new system is fairer to the majority of applicants, as each student is given only one place in each of the 11 institutes.' About 10,000 successful applicants were offered places in the first round. The second round of offers will be announced next Tuesday.