CO129-591-1 Hong Kong University Advisory Committee- recommendations 10-1-1944 - 5-12-1944 — Page 26

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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

[July 21, 1939

restricted to those concerning organisation and administration, which involved little or no additional expenditure. The measures were of importance, however, and were necessary to improve the conditions under which instruction was provided; some indeed were essential if the requirements of the General Medical Council were to be carried into effect. In 1934 the Dean and the Board of the Faculty of Medicine conducted a comprehensive and detailed examination of the organisation of, and provision made for, medical education as a whole and for each subject throughout the curriculum. Following this examination of the position a series of changes was made, including many modifications in the general organisation, the re-drafting of the University regulations, the introduction of a syllabus for each subject, the re-organisation of the academic year into three terms instead of two, and a re-adjustment of the students' time-table of studies. The procedure concerning applications from outside students for exemption from courses of study and examinations before admis- sion to the Faculty of Medicine was revised and regularised. These measures, and others to be referred to later and to which atten- tion was called in 1934, became effective in the period under review.

6. During the visit in January, 1939, the substantial advantage of these reforms to the departments and to the studies was apparent. The great difficulty in the preparation period before entering upon the medical curriculum, properly so called, does, however, remain. The medical student before admission to the University now passes the Hong Kong University School Certificate examination, an examination introduced in 1935 and recognised for matriculation to Universities in Great Britain, or an examination in lieu thereof, The first year is, as before, devoted to the subjects of Chemistry, Physics, and Biology. In this

year the classes in Chemistry and Physics are common to the students of all the Faculties of the University; in Biology a separate course is provided for intending medical students.

7. In the Report of 1934 it was recorded that the classes were crowded and that many students had had little or no opportunity of obtaining any instruction in elementary science during their school education, and some had insufficient practice in spoken

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

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July 21, 1939]

English. Such students were greatly handicapped during the first year of studies in the University, and seemed to be struggling to learn new subjects in a language they only knew imperfectly. Many failed to attain the requisite standard in the examinations at the first attempt, and repeat courses of study and duplication of classes were necessary. The position was recognised by the University as unsatisfactory. The teaching period during the academic year covered about six and a half months-about 27 to 28 weeks—a period which had proved insufficient for ade- quate preparation " without compressed instruction indistinguish- able from cramming." It was suggested, therefore, for the con- sideration of the University that the academic year should be re-organised to include three terms instead of two, and that the total teaching period should be increased to 33 to 34 weeks, or alternatively that medical students should be required to take the course for the Intermediate Examination in Arts in the University group which included English, Chemistry, Physics, and Biology, a course which covered two academic years. The Board of the Faculty of Medicine and the Senate considered the suggestions, and recommended the adoption of the alternative suggestion of two years' instruction, which, however, was rejected by the Council of the University.

8. The general conditions of study during the first year remain. The classes are, perhaps, more crowded than before owing to the increased number of entries in September, 1938, when sixty-seven new students were admitted, as compared with an average of thirty-one for the four years, 1934-7. Thus in regard to the pre-medical year the position is substantially what it was on my previous visit. A satisfactory course of training in Chemistry, Physics, and Biology must depend on the degree of preparation of a student during the period of school education, as well as on the attainments indicated by passing the matriculation test. The problem is admittedly a difficult one, and it is suggested that the position be further considered by the University.

THE COURSES OF INSTRUCTION.

9. In the Faculty of Medicine there are departments of Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathology, housed in separate build-

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