TNAG-0795-FCO40-999-Policy-of-Government-of-Hong-Kong-on-education-1978 — Page 143

8.

8.1

The Post-Secondary Colleges

While there are many private institutions which claim to provide courses at the post secondary level, only two- the Hong Kong Baptist College and Shue Yan College - are registered under the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance, and have thus obtained recognition for the standards they provide. The colleges that are not registered under this Ordinance will continue as private institutions without any Government assistance for as long as they meet a demand from the public. It is with the group of colleges that have met the standards required for approval under the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance that this chapter is concerned, as it is only in respect of these colleges that it would be appropriate for the Government to consider offering any form of assistance.

8.2

The approved post-secondary colleges offer principally four-year courses, mainly on a full-time basis, leading to the college diploma or to professional qualifications. While the Baptist College has departments of science and of civil engineering, most of the courses at these colleges are in the liberal arts and other non-technical subjects. The standard of the qualification obtainable from the four-year courses is considered to be somewhere between that of a sixth form Advanced Level qualification and a university degree. This intermediate status is reflected in the starting salary offered to college diploma holders who enter posts in Government service and in the market value of the diploma in private employment.

8.3

The first question to be raised is whether there is a need in Hong Kong for institutions offering predominantly liberal arts and general education courses at a level between the sixth form and university. Although the Post Secondary Colleges Regulations define entrance standards in relation to Form V qualifications, many students at the registered colleges have already completed a sixth form course, and for this reason and because of the nature and length of the diploma courses they do not constitute an alternative type of provision to the school sixth form. Nor is their function comparable with an institution such as the Polytechnic, which is concerned primarily with courses leading to vocational qualifications of a type not provided at school, though the colleges do provide some vocationally-directed courses and award qualifications that have received professional recognition. Furthermore, whereas universities and polytechnics operate at an established level in education systems throughout the world, the position of the post-secondary colleges does not find close parallels abroad,

31