To attract world’s best, Hong Kong universities must remain free and open

The marginalisation of student unions, political interference and lack of consultation over reforms has fed a feeling of shrinking academic freedom and autonomy

Tik Chi Yuen

Published: 9:30am, 30 Jan 2024

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Hong Kong is taking the right path in setting its sights on the international education industry. Education was already being promoted as one of six major industries back in 2009-10, when Donald Tsang Yam-kuen was chief executive.

Over the years, our local universities have gained much prestige. Five are now ranked among the world’s top 100 by Times Higher Education: University of Hong Kong (HKU), Chinese University (CUHK), University of Science and Technology, Polytechnic University, and City University (CityU).

Our universities attract both top research talent and students from around the globe and are an important platform for the city to maintain its connections with the international community. To attract the best scholars and researchers to our universities, Hong Kong must safeguard their academic freedom and institutional autonomy. Recently, however, the city’s tertiary education sector has faced several challenges.

The first relates to the marginalisation of student unions. Many institutions, such as Lingnan University, HKU and CityU, have either severed ties with their student unions or moved to distance themselves from them, no longer collecting fees on their behalf. The space for student unions to operate is shrinking, with many losing the right to participate in internal campus affairs and meetings, and facing restrictions when organising student activities.

Yet, universities and student unions used to have a collaborative relationship on issues such as managing campus affairs, improving the learning environment and enhancing teaching quality.

Student unions also provided a platform for nurturing future leaders – many government officials, business leaders and political figures were active members of their student unions. Marginalising our student unions and restricting student participation can only be detrimental to the holistic development of Hong Kong’s undergraduates.

Sylina Hui Man-shun and Oscar Leung Siu-kwan, former student leaders at Baptist University, are seen with a letter addressed to the university president, on June 8, 2023, appealing against the harsh crackdown on the union and complaining about alleged threats from management. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

The second challenge is interference with institutional autonomy. Last year, the Legislative Council passed amendments to the ordinances of three top universities, going as far as altering the structure of their governing boards. At CUHK, for example, what used be to an equal split between internal and external board members has been changed so that some two-thirds of the board are now external members.

Campus management, previously the responsibility of scholars, specialists and even students familiar with campus affairs, is increasingly being entrusted to people outside the university.

This raises concerns about undue political interference in Hong Kong’s universities, from teaching policies and personnel arrangements to academic freedom and the room for academic pursuits.

After the board restructuring at CUHK, its vice-president was fired. Soon after, the university’s vice-chancellor resigned. These developments have intensified the concerns over political interference and compromising institutional autonomy. This must surely affect the attractiveness of Hong Kong’s universities for scholars and research talent from around the world.

Rocky Tuan Sung-chi resigned as vice-chancellor of Chinese University on January 9, leaving the office at 7pm without answering reporters’ questions. Photo: Handout

The third challenge is a perception that university administrators lack transparency in pushing through reforms. In recent years, universities have seen reorganisation and curriculum changes but there has been a lack of consultation in the process. Many stakeholders feel the reforms lack transparency and diversity of opinions.

Concerns have been raised over the concentration of power in the hands of administrators, weakening the participation and autonomy of the academic community. In an academic environment, it is imperative to involve teachers, scholars and other campus members in safeguarding academic freedom, as their perspectives and professional insights enrich and balance decisions.

Protecting academic freedom requires ensuring there is sufficient participation and transparency in organisational changes to uphold the rights and values of the academic community. An open and participatory institutional culture is essential. Ignoring stakeholders can cause dissatisfaction with organisational decisions, affecting the academic environment and the exercise of academic freedom.

Can Hong Kong’s top universities attract overseas students, scholars?

While Hong Kong’s universities are still highly regarded, their global rankings have been slipping, noticeably for some.

Looking back over the past few years, it is not difficult to see that the space for universities and their academic pursuits has been shrinking. For example, after the introduction of the national security law, many scholars chose to resign or adjust their teaching content to avoid potential violations.

There has been a wave of resignations. In the 2021-2022 academic year alone, more than 360 scholars left the eight government-funded universities in Hong Kong, resulting in a turnover rate of 7.4 per cent, the highest since 1997.

If our universities can no longer uphold academic freedom and institutional autonomy, they will be unable to help the city in its goal of attracting global talent.

Dr Tik Chi Yuen is a legislative councillor in the social welfare functional constituency