THE announcement of the changes to the entry requirement for the colleges of education has aroused an intense reaction from the public. An Education Department spokesman has explained that the flexibility of the new policy would widen the choice of candidates without lowering standards. Teachers and Legislative Councillors, however, criticised the move saying it would lead to a long-termlowering of standards in the teaching profession. As a result of the expansion of tertiary education and the increased number of degree granting bodies in recent years, colleges of education have been faced with a shortage of suitably qualified students. The decrease in college student in take will lead to a waste of manpower and resources, not to mention the lowering of morale. The flexibility of the new entry requirement, as proposed by the Education Department, appears reasonable on the surface, and the student intake under this new policy in certain less favoured subjects will certainly improve. For example, of the admissions to a two-year course in music last year, there were only enough students for one college instead of the usual three. Across the board, this new entry policy would almost certainly lead to the admission of students of a generally lower standard. The question of how to attract more school leavers to join the teaching profession has been raised many times. The Education Commission Report No.5 seemed to provide an answer by proposing an upgrading of the colleges of education to the status of a degree granting body. However, this process may take many years and whether the Government will agree to it is still not known. In order to solve the immediate problem of a lack of prospective students, I think opportunities should be given to a wider number of school leavers, but students with grades below that previously considered as the minimum should be asked to take a pre-entry course lasting perhaps one year. They could enter the normal certificate programme only after successful completion of this course. The idea of a pre-course, to take in more students initially, has been practised in institutions such as the Hongkong Baptist College and in many institutions all over the world. The pre-professional course is also familiar to other professions, such as engineering and medicine. This system allows maximum utilisation of resources allocated by the Government to the colleges of education. The recruitment controversy represents the tip of the iceberg on the wider issue of teacher training in Hongkong. A long-term and far-sighted policy, as recommended by the Education Commission Report, remains the only answer. FANNY NG Sha Tin
