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May Chan

The 3+3+4 system is put back because a third of institutions are not ready for change

Secondary schooling reform is to be delayed by a year, to 2009, with a significant rise in funding, education chief Arthur Li Kwok-cheung announced yesterday.

The launch of the '3+3+4' system - three years of junior and three years of senior secondary schooling followed by four years of university - has been put back a year because a third of schools do not feel ready for the change.

Pupils now in Primary Five will be the first to follow the system.

The new structure will lead to the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education, a single examination that will replace the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination and A levels. These exams will be held for the last time, for students resitting them, in 2011 and 2013 respectively.

An Education and Manpower Bureau survey of about 400 secondary schools  found 30 per cent said they preferred to wait until 2009 or later, while 62 per cent said they would be ready by 2008.

The government will spend $7.9 billion to implement the reform, $1.2 billion more than was originally proposed.

There will also be an increase of $2 billion in annual recurrent spending for the secondary and university sectors in 2009 - an additional $800 million. Of this, $1.1 billion is earmarked for universities.

The extra money will  come from the bureau's budget with no additional  funds from government, said Professor Li,  who was outlining the government's action plan for the academic structure in Hong Kong.

University fees will increase from $42,100 to $50,000 a year from 2012, with parents having to foot the bill for four years instead of three. Senior secondary fees will rise to $7,200 by 2009, compared with $5,050 now paid in Form Four and Five.

The action plan also proposes changes to  the new compulsory liberal studies. It will be a pre-requisite for university entry, but the number of units has been cut - to six compulsory units and one elective, instead of nine and six. And it will account for a minimum 10 per cent of total teaching time, down from the proposed 12.5 per cent.

The teacher-class ratio in senior secondary will be increased from 1.9 per class to two per class, though class sizes of 40 are planned. There will also be a cash grant equivalent to 10 per cent of funding for teachers' salaries to each school.

School-based assessments will account for 15 to 30 per cent of marks for the Hong Kong Diploma for Secondary Education, down from the proposed 20 to 30 per cent.

'I believe most of the legislators will support the reform, though a few may still nit-pick. There are always people who badmouth well-intended policies of the government,' Professor Li said.

The changes were welcomed by schools, universities and parents. The Heads of Universities Committee, representing the eight universities funded by the University Grants Committee, issued a statement to reaffirm its support.

Dominic Chu Fu-yau,  chairman of the Subsidised Secondary Schools Council, said his members appreciated the changes. 'We are happy to see that the government has listened to our views and amended its plans,' he said.

Cheung Man-kwong,  president of the Professional Teachers' Union, said: 'The delay is reasonable because it will be such a great change.

'The original plan for liberal studies was too ambitious. It is sensible to cut the number of units.

'However, Arthur Li is carrying out the reform at the expense of elementary education.'

Keypoints of the reform

Implementation delayed from 2008 to 2009

Initial cost increased from $6.7 billion to $7.9 billion

Increase in annual recurrent spending from $1.1 billion to $2 billion

First batch of new senior secondary students - current Primary Five pupils

Year of admission of the first batch of students under four-year university system - 2012

Number of units in liberal studies - six compulsory plus one elective, down from nine compulsory units and six electives

Lesson time for liberal studies - no less than 10 per cent of total lesson time, down from 12.5 per cent

Weighting of school-based assessment in Hong Kong Diploma for Education - 15 to 30 per cent, down from 20 to 30 per cent



Secondary school reforms delayed