-
- 2 -
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
The nature of the comparisons which CNAA was asked to make to implement the policy of the Hong Kong government is set down in broad outline in the following extracts from the White Paper:-
"6.19 The qualifications awarded to students completing
satisfactorily the two-year post-Form VI courses will be aligned with those awarded by the Polytechnic to comparable students. The Director of Education will arrange for independent assessments to be made of the standard on which the award was based, so that the basis for comparison with the Polytechnic would be clear."
11
"6.20 It is understood that the colleges may wish to run one-year courses for those students completing the two year post-Form VI courses who have demonstrated the ability to proceed to a higher award. This is agreed on the understanding that such courses will attract no further financial assistance from the Government. The Government will be prepared to recognise the students who complete the courses satisfactorily as having the same eligibility and entitlements upon entry to Government service as would be granted to students at the Polytechnic who had studied one year beyond the Higher Diploma level, provided that it is established by independent assessment that the courses had reached this standard."
So far as possible, CNAA would not only make the comparisons, but would advise the Director of Education of the steps which would need to be taken to ensure that the courses attained and continued to attain an academic level at least comparable to that of parallel courses in the Polytechnic.
The Director of Education later specified the comparator courses in the Polytechnic in those fields where broadly comparable courses existed, and CNAA was able to propose tentative arrangements for Biology, that being a field for which no appropriate comparator course was offered in the Polytechnic. During the course of the exercise, CNAA also had some difficulty in regard to the suitability of the specified comparator course for Chemistry and made adjustments which are reported in detail in Appendix D.
The appraisals were commenced at a London meeting in October 1980, and continued in detail during a major visit by CNAA members and officers to Hong Kong during the two weeks, 5 to 16 January 1981.