Education system 'compromised'

THE three-year degree programme is compromising the territory's education system, Professor Wang Gungwu told graduates at the University of Hong Kong's 150th Congregation.

Addressing the assembly for the last time as Vice-Chancellor, Professor Wang said the need for a four-year degree programme stemmed from the inadequate language standards of secondary pupils.

Universities were operating under a severe handicap due to the three-year degree system, he said.

'Four-year degree courses would have provided a much broader education than the A level system offered, which requires that secondary schools should be first class and able to teach the last two years of school like a university,' he said.

'The Hong Kong reality, unfortunately, is that many secondary schools are new and thus have no well established tradition of preparing students for university.' The Vice-Chancellor said it was a great sadness he had not managed to get the four-year proposal accepted. 'This year we are taking nearly 2,800 or so undergraduates from nearly 300 secondary schools but, I regret to say, many are simply not of the calibre and quality that meet the standards required . . . in the end it is very unsatisfactory for them as well as teachers.' Professor Wang said the university would push for primary and secondary school educational reform.

'Such reform is now a vital necessity to iron out these imbalances in our education system.' Professor Wang said the primary goal when he took up the position of Vice-Chancellor 10 years ago was to strengthen the university's research to raise its international status.