14
(vi) the improvement of facilities (including recreational
facilities for students) in existing technical
institutes, together with better provision for
training technicians and higher technicians, and
the provision of larger sites for new technical
institutes.
Present position
6.17
The views of the 1979 Working Group were duly taken into
account by the UPGC during their March 1980 visitation and, following
further discussions between the government and the UPGC on the growth
rate for the universities in the 1981-84 triennium and related matters,
the Governor in Council decided in September 1980 that the UPGC should
be invited to work on an increase in the growth rate at the universities
in the 1981-84 triennium from 3 per cent to 4 per cent per annum and to
advise on the implications in terms of additional resources; that,
subject to the conclusions of the review referred to below, the UPGC
should be invited to continue to apply a growth rate of 4 per cent for
the 1984-87 triennium; that the whole field of distance learning,
including external degrees, should be pursued further with the UPGC; and
that a high-level official review with UPGC involvement should be
undertaken of Hong Kong's needs in the field of post-secondary and
technical education. As mentioned elsewhere the government has also
announced the introduction of an emergency loan scheme for Hong Kong
students already enrolled on recognised first-degree (or equivalent)
courses in Britain who have been affected by the sharp increases in
tuition fees for overseas students, and a longer-term scheme of financial
assistance for students intending to embark on tertiary courses in Britain
is also to be implemented. The validation of courses provided in