XN000022-1978-07-06 — Page 2

·

THURSDAY, JULY 6, 1978

MORE UNOFFICIALS COMMENT ON EDUCATION GREEN PAPER

*****

TEN UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL EXPRESSED THEIR VIEWS ON THE GREEN PAPER ON SENIOR SECONDARY AND TERTIARY EDUCATION AT THE RESUMED COUNCIL MEETING TODAY.

HOWEVER THERE WERE ONLY NINE SPEAKERS BECAUSE THE HON. FRANCIS TIEN WAS INDISPOSED. HIS SPEECH WAS DELIVERED ON HIS BEHALF BY THE HON. ALEX WU WHO ALSO EXPRESSED HIS OWN VIEWS ON THE GREEN

PAPER.

THE OTHER SPEAKERS WERE: THE HON. JAMES WU, THE HON. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, DR. THE HON. HARRY FANG, THE HON. MRS. KWAN KO SIU-WAH, THE HON. T.S. LO, THE HON. S.L. CHEN, DR. THE HON. HENRY HU AND THE HON. CHARLES YEUNG.

THE FOLLOWING ARE SUMMARIES OF THE COUNCILLORS' SPEECHES:

MR. JAMES WU: MORE RELEVANCE TO LOCAL BUSINESS AND MANUFACTURING

INDUSTRIES

THE HON, JAMES WU LISTED THE VARIOUS ADVANCES IN THE FIELD OF VOCATIONAL AND TERTIARY EDUCATION IN RECENT YEARS AND POINTED OUT THAT GRADUATES FROM THE UNIVERSITIES, THE POLYTECHNIC AND THE POST-SECONDARY COLLEGES IN THE 20-29 YEAR OLD AGE RANGE HAVE MARKEDLY BETTER EARNINGS THAN THOSE OF THEIR CONTEMPORARIES WHO HAVE NOT HAD THE SAME EDUCATION.

HE SAID HOWEVER THAT LOCAL BUSINESS AND MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES DO NOT APPEAR TO HAVE BENEFITTED CORRESPONDINGLY FROM THE OUTPUT OF OUR OWN UNIVERSITIES, AS RELATIVELY FEW GRADUATES WORK IN THESE SPHERES.

+IT IS NOT CLEAR WHETHER THIS IS DUE TO THE CURRICULA HAVING BEEN DESIGNED TO CONFORM MORE TO FOREIGN INSTITUTIONAL STANDARDS THAN FOR PREPARATION FOR LOCAL SERVICE AND EMPLOYMENT, HE SAID.

HE POINTED OUT THAT IN OVERSEAS UNIVERSITIES, SUCH AS IN THE UNITED STATES, ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES OF FACULTY MEMBERS NORMALLY REFLECT THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS OF THE COMMUNITIES.

+WITH HONG KONG HAVING BECOME ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST MANUFACTURING CENTRES IN TEXTILES, ELECTRONICS, PLASTICS- PROCESSING AND WATCH-MAKING AND WITH THE GREATEST CONCENTRATION OF POPULATION AND BUSINESS ACTIVITIES, IT SHOULD BE FERTILE GROUND FOR APPLIED RESEARCH AND STUDIES IN THESE FIELDS, AND I AM SURE THAT PAPERS ON SUCH TOPICS WILL HAVE GREAT ATTRACTION IN BOTH DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE,+ HE SAID.

/HE RECOMMENDED