At a time when the government is swinging a savage budgetary axe and decimating university programmes producing vitally needed medical professionals, the University Grants Committee (UGC) is virtually forcing the Chinese University of Hong Kong to build a new law school.
Hurrah! That's what we need, more lawyers!
The decision has been criticised not only within Chinese University itself but by many lawyers. The Law Society publicly raises polite doubts about feasibility of the school; in private, legal professionals are scathing. They hold there are already ample lawyers and say many young graduates are either jobless or seriously underemployed.
Nobody, not even the pro-vice-chancellor of Chinese University, Liu Pak-wai, can make a realistic guess about how much this foolishness will cost. Despite this, the university is appointing an administrator to set up the new law school and will soon launch a global hunt for a dean and professors, with collective salaries estimated at $60 million annually.
Then it will construct a new faculty building for 40 to 50 staff and a maximum yearly intake of 36 students. The two law schools at the University of Hong Kong and City University already produce 134 lawyers each year from their subsidised courses.
In addition, 3,792 Hongkongers are studying for Bachelor of Laws degrees (LLB) with the University of London and 166 are working on master's degrees (LLM) in law. Last year, 259 graduated with LLB degrees and 41 with LLMs. (The figures seem low; some part-time students may take eight years to gain a degree.) The London qualifications are recognised and accepted in Hong Kong.
