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Celine Sun

More than 1,000 staff and students of the Hong Kong Institute of Education yesterday called for the resignation of the chairman of its ruling council, a day after the body decided not to reappoint the institute's president.

At a packed - and sometimes heated - forum, council chairman Thomas Leung Kwok-fai  answered questions  about the decision, which has raised concerns of government intervention and a potential power vacuum at the Tai Po teacher-training institute.

The institute's 16-member council - 14 of whom are government appointees - voted on Thursday not to reappoint president Paul Morris, despite the fact he had the backing of staff and student associations as well as the academic board.

Dr Leung  told yesterday's forum the institute needed a change in leadership.

'There have been a number of things we have tried to do in the past two or three years, but we have not been able to achieve them,' he said. 'We hope to find a new leader with new ideas and new thinking who can help the institute find more room to develop.'

He promised to appoint a president within the year and said the council would look at ways to avoid a power vacuum given the fact a number of senior staff are due to leave the institute soon.

As Dr Leung left the meeting, the audience erupted  with cries for him to 'step down, step down', to which he later said:   'I was appointed by the government. I don't have any plans to step down.'

On Thursday, Professor Morris said the chairman told him in June that his reappointment hinged on his acceptance of a merger between the institute  and Chinese University of Hong Kong, a charge Dr Leung has denied.

In an interview yesterday, Professor Morris fleshed out the allegation, saying education chief Arthur Li Kwok-cheung  had pursued the goal of a merger from 'behind the scenes'.

'Merging is not a government policy ... but it is Arthur's agenda and he has pursued it very strongly in the form of conversations and direct discussions,' he said.

Professor Li declined to comment on the accusation, but has previously denied any involvement in the decision  about Professor Morris' future.

During yesterday's forum, Dr Leung said  the council had not debated plans for a merger recently. The idea had been raised two or three years ago but  the plan had been shelved.



Head of institute's council urged to quit over ousting