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Lingnan defies EMB directive as it admits Form Six students

Lingnan University's president has defended its policy of accepting students who have completed only Form Six for its associate degree (AD) programmes, in defiance of Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB) guidelines.

Professor Edward Chen Kwan-yiu said the guideline of allocating AD places to seventh-formers with at least a pass in one A-level or two AS-level subjects would lead to the students being labelled as losers in the A-level examination.

He said it was pointless to admit only students who had taken A-levels.

'AD programmes are meant to be an alternative path to receiving higher education, and not a last resort for students who fail to enter universities through the A-level exams.

'The existing guidelines are nothing short of stigmatising all AD students as losers of the mainstream education system.'

Professor Chen added that the university had set a higher precondition by requiring applicants to have scored at least 10 points in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE), double the points normally required, or passes in five HKCEE subjects.

Sixteen of the 591 AD students accepted by Lingnan this year are Form Six graduates, compared with six out of 365 last year, and 10 out of 330 in 2002-03.

Other schools are also opening their doors to sixth-formers, while Form Five graduates are normally accepted for one-year pre-associate degree programmes.

A spokesman for Chinese University's School of Continuing Studies, which launched sub-degree programmes last year, said it accepted Form Six graduates on the basis of interview and HKCEE results. The school also provides language bridging courses.

Polytechnic University's Hong Kong Community College adheres to the EMB guidelines. Programme director Leung Wing-nin said most applicants for their programmes had two A-level passes.

'We had to turn some away because of limited places. The reality is students with poorer results in the A-level exam often cannot get government-funded places but that does not mean they are inferior. Many could have been admitted by universities overseas,' he said.

PolyU is planning to apply for a government site in West Kowloon for the construction of a second campus for its community college. Another building in Hunghom with a capacity for 3,000 students is expected to be completed in 2007.

The PolyU college, established in 2001, saw a 60 per cent rise in applications for its 13 AD programmes this year.

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