A COMPREHENSIVE review of education strategy into the next century will be conducted by the Education Commission, to help map out a better schooling policy for Hong Kong's changing needs. An educationist welcomed the review - the most comprehensive since a study by a visiting international panel in 1982 - but said it came a bit too late. Commission chairman Professor Rosie Young Tse-tse said since the political, social and economic environment of the territory had changed, there was a need to review the kind of manpower and education needed. She said that while the Basic Law guaranteed the education system would remain unchanged for 50 years, civic education would need to be enhanced in view of the political changes. 'Even without the 1997 factor, Hong Kong people should have a stronger sense of belonging to the mainland,' she said. Professor Young said the growing importance of Hong Kong's tertiary industry and technological developments, like computerisation, had led to changes. A government manpower report last year, which predicated a shortage of matriculants and an oversupply of people with degrees by 2001, would be taken as a reference in the review. The commission will first consult relevant advisory groups to identify key questions on the review for initial discussion at its meeting next month. The convenor of the Democratic Party's education policy panel, Ip Kin-yuen, said there had not been a formal study on a possible gap between the education system and the needs of society. He said employers had complained about educational standards of staff, particularly language ability. Parents, he said, were concerned about delinquency problems, which reflected the inadequacy of moral education. The Government had been very shortsighted in formulating education policy, Mr Ip said, and the review was good, although it came too late. He said many other countries had already conducted similar studies. Areas which Mr Ip felt should be reviewed included language policy and civic education. He said the review should also look at education outside school, like family education, the role of the mass media and how to maintain academic freedom after 1997. The commission will also conduct a more technical study on post-compulsory education - Form Four to Seven. Professor Young said this was to match the Board of Education's review on the education system from primary school to Form Three and the University Grants Committee's review of tertiary education.