XN000022-1980-10-22 — Page 12

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1980

HE THOUGHT THAT PART-TIME OR EXTERNAL DEGREE OR ASSOCIATESHIP COURSES WOULD BE A SUITABLE MEANS OF MEETING THIS NEED.

TURNING TO THE COST OF TERTIARY EDUCATION, MR CHEN URGED THE GOVERNMENT TO ADJUST THE PRESENT STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE SCHEME TO REFLECT THE FULL COST SO THAT NO DESERVING STUDENT CAPABLE OF BENEFITTING FROM HIGHER EDUCATION WOULD BE DEPRIVED OF SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY.

AT PRESENT, HE NOTED, TERTIARY EDUCATION IN HONG KONG IS HEAVILY SUBSIDISED AND ALL STUDENTS, RICH AND POOR, ARE SUBSIDISED MORE OR LESS TO THE SAME DEGREE.

HE CONSIDERED THIS TO BE +SOCIALLY INEQUITABLE+.

+WELL-TO-DO STUDENTS MUST PAY THE FULL COST OF EDUCATION, AND THIS I THINK IS NOT ONLY SOCIALLY MORE EQUITABLE BUT ALSO WOULD ENABLE MORE PLACES TO BE PROVIDED IN HIGHER EDUCATION FOR A GIVEN SUM OF MONEY.+

AS REGARDS THE GROWTH RATE OF THE GDP, MR CHEN SAID THE PROJECTED NINE PER CENT WAS AMONG THE HIGHEST IN THE WORLD AND PROBABLY UNPARALLELED WITH A FEW EXCEPTIONS IN ASIA.

+FOR INDUSTRY TO DEVELOP AT THIS PACE, THE NEED FOR THE SUPPORT OF A SOUND AND EFFICIENT INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUCTURE IS ONLY TOO OBVIOUS.

MR CHEN THEREFORE URGED THAT TOP PRIORITY BE GIVEN TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON DIVERSIFICATION'S PROPOSALS TO STRENGTHEN OUR EXISTING INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUCTURE ESPECIALLY IN REGARD TO BETTER CO-ORDINATION OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE MAJOR INDUSTRIAL ORGANISATIONS, SUCH

AS THE HONG KONG PRODUCTIVITY CENTRE, THE FEDERATION OF

HONG KONG INDUSTRIES AND THE CHINESE MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION.

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