Critics yesterday hit out at a plan by a government advisory body to overhaul language tests in Hong Kong, saying it would only cater to the needs of employers. Details of the proposed tests, which would cover Cantonese, English and Putonghua and would apply to everyone from primary school students to professionals - forming a reference point for prospective employers - were revealed by the South China Morning Post yesterday. Candidates would be given separate grades for comprehension, writing, listening and speaking, allowing employers to pick applicants according to their needs. The Hong Kong Association for Continuing Education said the tests would undermine the purpose of learning languages. 'The teaching of languages at school should not be rendered a form of drilling only for employment's sake,' association vice-chairman Mervyn Cheung Man-ping said. 'Otherwise, it won't be studying the language as a language, but as some practical skill applicable to the commercial world. 'I can see that the teaching of poems and literature, an integral part of language education, will be greatly reduced if such a test becomes the only yardstick.' The president of the Federation of Student Unions, Fung Ka-keung, has similar concerns. 'The Government would be agreeing to create such a test just because the employers thought it was a good idea,' he said. 'But language education is not just a commercial commodity. It's the employers' responsibility to find out which of the job applicants are suitable for them.' Dr Peter Storey, head of the Hong Kong Institute of Education's Centre for Language in Education, doubted if the Government had the time or resources to develop the comprehensive test. 'I agree there's a need to have an objective language test. But the Government would have great difficulty developing such a test,' he said. 'It took several years for some countries, such as Australia, the UK and the mainland, to develop their tests. These overseas tests could be used in Hong Kong and the Government should create a mechanism to compare different tests available here rather than developing a brand new test.' The proposal envisages the test being able to reflect whether the language standards of the community as a whole are improving or slipping in real terms, rather than in relative terms. The Government has not been able to assess standards because results in public examinations are scaled by control groups. For example, the pass rates for both Chinese and English in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examinations are always over 60 per cent, despite criticism over a decline in proficiency in recent years. The language test idea is being considered by the Standing Committee on Language Education Research and the final proposal is expected to be submitted by the middle of next year. The Project Springboard scheme, created for pupils who fail their public exams, may offer more courses in technology and computing after receiving a flood of applications in these areas. The programme, which offers 5,000 places, will continue to accept applications despite the passing of yesterday's deadline. No figure was given for applications. cywan@scmp.com