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time such seems called for, while the Government's financial backing
amounts only to about 30% of our total revenue, the major part of
which is derived from benefactions.
In practice, all the most
important measures are beyond the control, and only remotely
influenced by the opinions of, the academic staff.
From its foundation in 1912 the University has had
Faculties of Medicine, Engineering, and Arts, and in 1938 we added
a new (and as yet very small) Faculty of Science. The Medical
Faculty had a flying start, incorporating as it did the former
Hong Kong College of Medicine, founded mainly by Sir Patrick Manson
and Sir James Cantlie. It has always received more support from
the public and from the H.K. Government than any other Faculty,
and has flourished accordingly. Our Medical degrees are fully
accepted by the General Medical Council of Great Britain.
The Engineering Faculty has been more difficult to
run, though in the early years it did receive some generous backing,
chiefly in the form of machinery and apparatus donated by British
firms. The three departments of Civil, Mechanical, and Electrical
Engineering, though in various ways rather severely handicapped,
have on the whole fulfilled successfully the purposes for which
they were established. The curricula are fully set forth in our
"Calendar" and "Students' Handbook", published annually (till 1941).
In scope and standard they do not fear comparison with those provided
in home Universities. The minimum period between Matriculation and
Graduation is four years, but otherwise the courses of training have
resembled those of London University, from which the original
Engineering Staff was largely drawn. We have never yet had,
perhaps can ever hope to have, the numerous special departments,
nor the generous equipment, enjoyed by the long-established
institutions in Britain. But I can declare from personal knowledge
that, as regards the basic requirements, our standards have been
good, that in fact it has been a trifle easier to obtain a pass
B.Sc. in London than in Hong Kong.
nor
The Arts Faculty has been somewhat restricted in scope,