2 March 2011

“Signals from HK’s Changing Education Landscape:
Reflections for HKU SPACE in search of its future direction”
2 March 2011
Speech by Dr. C.H. Leong

Mr. Linus Cheung, Vice-chancellor, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
     
      Let me begin by thanking HKU SPACE for inviting me to address this Forum.  In thanking SPACE I must congratulate you on the choice of your theme — “Signals from HK’s Changing Education Landscape: Reflections for HKU SPACE in search of its future direction”

      I am acutely aware of the fact that as an simple minded elderly medical practitioner, addressing an audience of educators, on a subject of Educational Landscape changes, is just like bring “coals to Newcastle”.

      Be that as it may, I would like to address you on the following areas:

• The Importance of Education — the Word Trend
• Policy changes and directions of the HK SAR government
• Aspirations of the UGC for Higher Education System in HK
• Direction in Post Secondary Education and Life long learning in Mainland China

Needless to say, I will be concentrating in post secondary education.

No one would doubt the importance of education, otherwise we would not be here today.  President Obama once said “ America’s economic preeminence, its ability to out-complete other countries, will be shaped not just in boardrooms, not just on factory floor, but in classrooms, schools and at universities.

Likewise, the former Labour government of UK stated that “ Higher education is and will continue to be, central to the country’s economic performance in the twenty first century.

Closer to home, our Chief Executive in his Policy Address in 2009 emphasized that HK’s needs to enhance our global competitiveness will be particularly through the development of a high value added, knowledge based economy driven by innovation and knowledge based industries, and it is self-evident that economy which depends upon skills of the mind, upon knowledge and its applications, requires an educated population, in particular a diversified, well-supported and creative post-secondary sector.

It is on this basis that education is the largest single expenditure item in the HKSAR’s budget, representing over 20% of government annual recurrent expenditure.  A decade ago, 30% of HK’s young people attending local post secondary programmes, today, this is over 65%.  These are of course provided by our degrees awarding institutions and sub-degree sectors offering High Diplomas and Associate degrees and non-local courses, the majority of which offered in partnerships with local institutions.
      How should post secondary programmes be financed?  The common and traditional trend is that since education or the promotion of education, is a socio-economic need, government should foot the bill.  However, as education is being globalised, aspects of post-secondary education have evolved as businesses, both through encouragement from governments and in response to financial need.  Furthermore, no government can totally provide for the repaid expansion of the need for post secondary education.  Since the mid-1990s, many countries have increased private spending on post-secondary education.  Interesting enough, countries with highest growth in private spending in education have also shown a highest increase in public spending.
      Similar directions are set for HK where the government intends to encourage the establishment of new universities to increase the private provision of degree programmes. Six sites are reserved for tertiary educational institutions that are expected to provide a total enrolment of some 18,000 self-financed degree places.

      It should be noted that the advent of private provision does not necessarily erode the vigor of public institutions.

      Much has been said that the drive for the thought for new private universities is to provide the very much-needed articulation for sub degree students to acquire a full degree.  I do not doubt such need, yet I fervently hope that any new private university should be set up with a clear vision and a responsibility to maintain the highest standard in education.

      For a university to be “successful” and for a new private university developed from existing institutions to glorify the board of its parent, quality assurance is pivotal and standards must be assessed in the same way and with the same yardsticks for all universities, be it private and public.  There is thus a call for a quality assurance body.

HK University is supportive to a New Private University with the ownership and sponsorship of HKU, but managed by the already developed expertise of HKU SPACE.

      Yet, all universities are not the same and there are role differentiations in different institutions.  This must be recognized on which bases Credit Accumulation and Transfer as suggested by UGC will be most difficult to carry out and its needs questionable.

      This year marks the 14th year of HK’s returns to the Motherland.  We are an integral part of China.  Any educational landscape changes in the Mainland will affect educational development in HK and any proposed change in HK should not lose sight of the needs and changes in the Mainland, which is our strong backbone.  This is particular true for HKU, for our motto spell out loud and clear for us, “to produce graduates “to serve HK, China and the World”.

      The Central Chinese Government has recently produced a document  “國家中長期教育改革和發展規劃綱要 2010 – 2020” which I am sure will form part of the 12th 5 years plan and will be touched on in the sessions of the人民代表大會and 政協, some of the proposal are to attain by 2010( “高等教育結構更加合理，特色更加鮮明，人才培養、科學研究和社會服務整體水平全面提升，建成一批國際知名、有特色、高水準的高等學校，若干所大學達到或接近世界一流大學水平” ).
Furthermore it also stressed on the development of sustainable and continuous and life long learning.  The target by 2010 is “人人皆學，處處可學，時時能學”.

What all these landscape for HKU and HKU SPACE?

HK University believes that we should not only be producing graduates to serve the Mainland, but we should make our physical presence in the Mainland.  It sounds ironic that HK is part of China and yet HKU, a leading university of HK is not in the league table and even in the list of 重點 universities of China.

Finally, HKU believe that should HK aspire to have a few of our universities to  be in the top international university league — the Oxfords, Cambridge of UK, the Harvard of the U.S. — then our government while providing support for all universities to develop, should consider the issue of funding differentiations.  After all, as in the Mainland, the aim is to promote “若干所大學達到世界一流大學”, so too, HK should concentrate on one or two universities to be 世界一流大學.

Mr. Chairman, the incidence last evening of an alleged assault on the CE has given me another thought — a thought of education in relation to changing landscape of politics.  Universities should undertake an important task beyond the transmissions of academic disciplinary or professional knowledge.  Student should acquire a greater sense of the wider world and the morale or ethical tools with which they can contribute to that world.  The experience of education should firmly root an individual’s sense of personal, social and civic responsibility.