Government expects to make decisions on the implementation of the report's recommendations in early 1987, following completion of the period of public consultation.
60. In 1986 the Hong Kong Government announced its intention to establish a third university in the territory. A committee to oversee the planning of the new institution has now been established with distinguished local and overseas membership. The new university will be a grouping of professional schools emphasising science, technology, management and business studies. It is expected that it will admit its first students in the early 1990s by which time the number of first-year, first degree places available to Hong Kong students will have risen to 8,300 compared with the present figure of 4,200.
61. Hong Kong now has five degree awarding institutions: the Hong Kong and Chinese universities, the two polytechnics and the Baptist College. In 1986 there were 16,000 students on degree courses and additional programmes will be introduced this year. At present, proposals for new degree courses at the Hong Kong Polytechnic, City Polytechnic and Baptist College are assessed by the United Kingdom Council for National Academic Awards. A Planning Com- mittee on Academic Awards has been appointed to make recommendations on the establishment of a system for validation of courses within Hong Kong.
62. The Hong Kong Government is also placing high priority on the expan- sion of technical education and industrial training to support the continuing development of the territory's manufacturing and service industries. Two more technical institutes were opened in 1986: in the new towns of Sha Tin and Tuen Mun, raising the number of full-time and equivalent places in the seven technical institutes from 9,100 to 13,400. An eighth technical institute will open next year and will provide a further 2,700 places. These institutes have been built under the auspices of Hong Kong's Vocational Training Council, which has wide responsibilities for developing and operating technical and industrial training for operatives, craftsmen and technicians. The Council operates two industrial training centre complexes which provide training in the major industrial skills for some 9,000 trainees each year. On the commercial side, the Council opened two new training centres during the year in the fields of insurance and electronic data processing.
(c) Medical Services
63. In the field of medical and health services work continued on Hong Kong's extensive hospital building programme. The number of beds in government and government-subvented hospitals has risen from 17,000 to 22,000 over the last ten years and is projected to rise to over 27,000 by the end of 1990.
64. A government commissioned report by overseas consultants on the management and organisation of hospital services was published in March. One of its principal recommendations is that the management of all government and subvented hospitals be vested in a Hospital Authority to ensure the most
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