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technical, but there are still difficult problems of selection and
allocation which (as explained in appendix C) will not be easy to
resolve: there is still a very real problem of stress among children
as they progress from one stage of education to the next. There is a
far greater awareness of educational matters among the Hong Kong public
and a far greater degree of personal interest in education than in many
western countries. There are many reasons for this, not least of which
is the traditional Chinese respect for scholarship: but in practical
terms, in an economy where there are still very sharp differences in the
relative earning powers of the qualified and the unqualified, where there
is still an exaggerated if slowly declining respect for white-collar jobs,
and where it is still possible for enterprising professionals in the
private sector to make personal fortunes, the acquisition of qualifications
has become a prime goal. And so long as the long-term political future of
Hong Kong remains in doubt, the most desired qualifications will be those
with international currency: moreover, the search for security is reinforced
in this respect by the outward-looking search for opportunity which is so
characteristic of the Chinese people and which has frequently enabled them
to overcome difficult circumstances.
7.3
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Examinations are thus seen by many to be the focal points of the
school system and this attitude is associated with a marked preference for
education in the medium of English, in spite of the attendant difficulties.
Prevalent attitudes to education in Hong Kong are the result of various
social and economic forces: a strong factor is undoubtedly unsatisfied
social demand for higher education which, in spite of increased access to
education at all levels, still creates a downward pressure as parents do
their utmost to find a route which they think will successfully lead their
children from kindergarten to university. The route is often a hard one,
the efficiency of each stage being judged all too frequently by examination
results alone. This has obvious implications for standards. The prime