Interest in overseas study on the rise

Interest in overseas study is on the increase, despite education reforms aimed at offering school-leavers wider options locally.

Recent international student information days and fairs have reported a rise in attendance and interest by local students wanting a foreign education. This comes despite government attempts to broaden local offerings, including the introduction of associate degree courses last year.

The Australian Education Festival, held last weekend at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, reported counting 16,000 people through the doors, up from 14,000 last year.

Prospective international students were able to compile information on 85 institutions and undergo interviews over the three days.

Australian Education Centre director Ivy Ngan said the increase in numbers flew in the face of the expansion of local options.

'It was a surprise that the number of student visas issued continued to increase. The number for July increased 22 per cent over last year.'

Ms Ngan said two-year associate degree courses were available to students with HKCEE passes. They had been introduced to give more students the chance to gain post-secondary qualifications, but had created limited impact so far. Associate degrees were not well received because they were not recognised by employers and did not guarantee that students could transfer to the second year of a higher degree programme, she said. The British Council's director of education services Winnie Eley also reported a rise in attendance at Education UK enrolment interviews over three days last weekend, with 16,000 attending, up 60 per cent from 10,000 last year.

Ms Eley said the Government's push for life-long learning and need to upgrade qualifications were pressing more people to turn to overseas education.

Those going to Britain looked more into the quality of education than cost when deciding where to study, she said.

She added that it was too early to gauge the impact of the introduction of associate degrees but did not expect it to affect numbers as most people made their choices years in advance and were committed to studying overseas.

The latest figures show that there were more than 8,000 Hong Kong students in higher education in Britain, including undergraduate and postgraduates, for the 1999/2000 year.