Red tide induces navel gazing

June 20, 1997

At midnight on June 30, 155 years of British rule in Hong Kong cease. The handover to China raises complex questions for the colony's institutions, economy and citizens, with Hong Kong's thriving universities firmly at the core of its people's hopes and fears. The THES looks at the issues involved

Maggie Verrall discovers that the return to China has prompted Hong Kong's academics to reflect on the state of tertiary education.

Less than ten years ago, there were just two universities in Hong Kong. Now there are seven, with the possibility of more. In 1987, there were just over 30,000 full-time equivalent students studying at institutions funded by the University Grants Committee. In ten years, that number has doubled, thanks mainly to the implementation of a government expansion plan for the sector. Hong Kong now provides first-year first degree places for roughly 18 per cent of the relevant age group of the population, up from 10.2 per cent in 1990/91.

But what will be the issues facing the tertiary sector when the territory reverts to Chinese rule? "Basically the issues that universities everywhere are concerned with," says H. K. Chang, vice chancellor of City University. "I don't think they are directly related to the change of sovereignty."

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While this may be so, many people are taking the opportunity provided by a change in government to reflect on the state of Hong Kong's education. Tung Chee-hwa, chief executive designate for the Hong Kong, has appointed Antony K. C. Leung, UGC chairman, to conduct an education review. Mr Leung is expected to report this month.

University heads are also indulging in a spot of navel-gazing. At the heart of many of their conclusions is the need to consolidate, and if possible increase, the international dimension of academic life in the territory.

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This will help Hong Kong maintain an edge over universities in the mainland and help it fulfil a potential role as a stepping stone in establishing more links between universities in China and overseas.

This internationalism has several practical aspects. As Poon Chung-kwong, president of the Polytechnic University, explains, one of the main effects will be the continued use of English as the medium of instruction. "It's very clear that we need to keep using an international language, particularly so that we can continue to recruit promising academics from around the world," says Professor Poon.

Several tertiary institutes are also moving to credit-based, semester systems, to bring them into line with the rest of the world. This will allow flexibility for students in choosing their courses - but should also make overseas student exchanges more practical. "I am aiming for 10 per cent of our students being able to study for one semester overseas," says Cheng Yiu-chung, vice chancellor of the University of Hong Kong. They will introduce a credit-based system in the 1998-99 academic year. Polytechnic University will introduce a pilot-scheme in the engineering faculty this September, extending the credit-based scheme to the rest of the university next year.

Part and parcel of the move to embrace internationalism is a student population confident and capable in English. This, however, is not the case at the moment. "To call Hong Kong a bilingual city is a misnomer," says Professor Chang of City University. "Hong Kong operates in Chinese ... the assumption that students come from a bilingual society and use English as a second language in their daily lives is not a good one."

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Many universities are introducing new measures to help boost communication skills and bolster student confidence in their language abilities. But the consensus is that there is a fundamental problem with language teaching at primary and secondary levels that has to be addressed.

Hong Kong is also debating whether to change from a three-year undergraduate system to a four-year one. "Some people suspect that the debate has to do with the fact that mainland Chinese universities have four years. But it's really a review of what is the best way to educate our young people," says Professor Chang.

University heads do not seem to share their students' worries about loss of freedom of speech or control being exerted from China. It is stated in the Basic Law that Hong Kong's tertiary institutes will retain autonomy and enjoy freedom of speech, points out Professor Cheng of the University of Hong Kong. "We have to make sure that we deliver that promise."

Professor Chang feels even more strongly about it. "I have seen nothing that even suggests in a remote way that the way our staff are going to teach their students will change in the future," he says. "I think academic freedom as we have known it will continue to exist unthreatened."