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Mandatory lectures to broaden scope of knowledge

Emily Lam

Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has set up a General Education Centre to offer mandatory courses in a wider range of subjects.

Stephen Lau Shek-lam, acting head of the centre, said the aim was to diversify students' interests in a variety of fields.

'Competition in the labour market is getting intense and employers are becoming more demanding. Many students make a big effort in their studies to achieve good results. General education can inspire them to broaden their views.

'We are not requiring our students to be multi-professional. If we can raise their interest in other fields besides their main studies, we have been successful,' Dr Lau said.

'We want to stimulate their motivation in self-learning.' Courses will concentrate on informed judgment and critical thinking. Twenty-five subjects will be categorised into areas such as science, history, philosophy, aesthetics and values.

Each full-time degree programme student will be required to study two subjects of general education, each worth three credits. Those who take non-degree programmes must take one mandatory general education subject, also worth three credits.

General education subjects will be taught in mass lectures with 100 students, as well as in six-student groups every two weeks.

Nancy Tong Lau Yuk-ling, academic secretary of PolyU, said many students' views had been narrowed because they opted to study arts or science in Form Three.

'That is why we have to have compulsory general education in universities,' she said.

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