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A Brief History of Technical Education in Hong Kong
Old people recall the past gladly and shrink characteristically from contemplating the future. But obviously things are going to continue to change, just as some of us in the 1970s could visualise that an organisation similar to the Vocational Training Council (VTC) was not so far away. But just as in the colonial 1950s and '60s 1997 was seldom mentioned, looking into the crystal ball today to decide what technical education will look like half a century from now has to be another story.
Thank you again for inviting me to share this very special day with you.
About the Speaker
Dr D D Waters, who was born in 1920, sailed from England for Hong Kong in 1954. It has been his home ever since. He taught building at the old Technical College (now the Polytechnic University) becoming Head of the Building Department in 1963. In 1968 he was appointed Principal, more than one year in advance of the opening of Hong Kong's first Technical Institute at Morrison Hill.
In 1972, he was transferred to the Education Department Headquarters to oversee the setting up of additional Institutes. He later became the Assistant Director (Technical Education) and responsible to the Director of Education for Hong Kong's technical education system.
Dr Waters served as a Justice of the Peace in the 1970s and was made a Companion of the Imperial Service Order by Her Majesty the Queen in 1981, largely for his work in technical education. In 1998 he was awarded a Bronze Bauhinia Star, by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, for his work in heritage conservation.