In the past two decades, Hong Kong universities' international rankings have shown impressive improvements. Their research funding has been increasing, and the faculty's principal task has shifted to publication in leading international journals.
In terms of international publications, local universities' staff members have obviously been performing well and this, in turn, is reflected in their institutions' international rankings. This is an achievement Hong Kong people can be proud of.
In contrast to private enterprises, the evaluation of the performance of public-sector organisations is more complex, probably even more so for public universities. Hong Kong's public universities enjoy generous funding from taxpayers, so they are certainly accountable to the public.
But when this assessment overemphasises one single criterion, it may have undesirable consequences. In the Ming dynasty, civil service examinations took the form of rigidly structured 'eight-legged' essays. The original intention was to establish a more objective criterion for assessment, but the result was the choking of creativity.
Hong Kong is a small economic entity; it does not have to assume much responsibility in pushing forward global frontiers of research. Attractive research funding and remuneration packages are probably inadequate to recruit talent from the top research institutions of advanced countries. There is always the issue of national commitment and pride, too. Resources of local tertiary institutions should first be assigned to cultivate local students to enhance the local economy's international competitiveness.
The early 1990s saw a major boost in research funding for universities in Hong Kong. The rationale was that they would not attract exceptional staff if priority was not given to research. Today, local universities rank among world leaders, Yet, we can ask, what contributions have they made to Hong Kong's development?
The irony is that, when local tertiary institutions have achieved world standards, more and more middle-class families have the financial resources to send their children to study abroad. Top university students in Hong Kong are comparable to those at the top international universities. But a substantial proportion of local tertiary students do not work very hard, so much so that their counterparts from the mainland are surprised by their lack of motivation.