ENG-1978-07-06 — Page 1

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 6 July 1978 1151

OFFICIAL REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS

Thursday, 6 July 1978

The Council met at half past two o’clock

PRESENT

HIS EXCELLENCY THE ACTING GOVERNOR (PRESIDENT)

SIR DENYS TUDOR EMIL ROBERTS, KBE, QC, JP

THE HONOURABLE THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY (Acting)

MR DAVID HAROLD JORDAN, CMG, MBE, JP

THE HONOURABLE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

MR JOHN WILLIAM DIXON HOBLEY, CMG, QC, JP

THE HONOURABLE THE SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS

MR LI FOOK-KOW, CMG, JP

THE HONOURABLE DAVID AKERS-JONES, CMG, JP

SECRETARY FOR THE NEW TERRITORIES

THE HONOURABLE LEWIS MERVYN DAVIES, CMG, OBE, JP

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY

THE HONOURABLE DAVID WYLIE McDONALD, CMG, JP

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS

THE HONOURABLE KENNETH WALLIS JOSEPH TOPLEY, CMG, JP

DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION

THE HONOURABLE DAVID GREGORY JEAFFRESON, JP

SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC SERVICES

THE HONOURABLE ALAN JAMES SCOTT, JP

SECRETARY FOR HOUSING

THE HONOURABLE GARTH CECIL THORNTON, QC

SOLICITOR GENERAL

THE HONOURABLE EDWARD HEWITT NICHOLS, OBE, JP

DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES

THE HONOURABLE THOMAS LEE CHUN-YON, CBE, JP

DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL WELFARE

THE HONOURABLE ERIC PETER HO, JP

SECRETARY FOR SOCIAL SERVICES

THE HONOURABLE JOHN CHARLES CREASEY WALDEN, JP

DIRECTOR OF HOME AFFAIRS

THE HONOURABLE JOHN MARTIN ROWLANDS, JP

SECRETARY FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE

THE HONOURABLE JAMES NEIL HENDERSON, JP

COMMISSIONER FOR LABOUR

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THE HONOURABLE SIR SZE-YUEN CHUNG, CBE, JP

THE HONOURABLE LEE QUO-WEI, CBE, JP

THE HONOURABLE OSWALD VICTOR CHEUNG, CBE, QC, JP THE HONOURABLE JAMES WU MAN-HON, OBE, JP

THE HONOURABLE HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, OBE, JP THE HONOURABLE LI FOOK-WO, OBE, JP

DR THE HONOURABLE HARRY FANG SIN-YANG, OBE, JP THE HONOURABLE MRS KWAN KO SIU-WAH, OBE, JP THE HONOURABLE LO TAK-SHING, OBE, JP

THE HONOURABLE ALEX WU SHU-CHIH, OBE, JP

THE HONOURABLE CHEN SHOU-LUM, JP

DR THE HONOURABLE HENRY HU HUNG-LICK, OBE, JP THE HONOURABLE LEUNG TAT-SHING, JP

THE REV. THE HONOURABLE PATRICK TERENCE McGOVERN, SJ, JP THE HONOURABLE PETER C. WONG, JP

THE HONOURABLE WONG LAM, OBE, JP

THE HONOURABLE CHARLES YEUNG SIU-CHO, JP

ABSENT

THE HONOURABLE DEREK JOHN CLAREMONT JONES, JP SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

DR THE HONOURABLE THONG KAH-LEONG, JP

DIRECTOR OR MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES

THE HONOURABLE WILLIAM DORWARD, OBE, JP

DIRECTOR OF TRADE, INDUSTRY AND CUSTOMS (Acting) THE HONOURABLE ROGERIO HYNDMAN LOBO, CBE, JP THE HONOURABLE PETER GORDON WILLIAMS, OBE, JP THE HONOURABLE JOHN HENRY BREMRIDGE, OBE, JP THE HONOURABLE FRANCIS YUAN-HAO TIEN, OBE, JP THE REV. THE HONOURABLE JOYCE MARY BENNETT, JP THE HONOURABLE LYDIA DUNN, OBE, JP

DR THE HONOURABLE RAYSON LISUNG HUANG, CBE, JP

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 6 July 1978 1153 IN ATTENDANCE

THE CLERK TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

MR STEPHEN TAM SHU-PUI

UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS MOTION

GREEN PAPER―SENIOR SECONDARY AND TERTIARY EDUCATION Resumption of debate on motion (5 July 1978)

MR JAMES WU:―Sir, I welcome this opportunity to say a few words on the Green Paper on Senior Secondary and Tertiary Education that proposes a development programme for education in Hong Kong over the next decade. I will confine to vocational (or technical) and tertiary education.

Tertiary Education―A Silent social revolution

As a Hong Kong born who went to school and university here before World War II, I notice the great progress we have made post war in the field of vocational and tertiary education. In 1941, Hong Kong had a population of about 1.5 million, with only one university with a total capacity of less than 1,000 students. There were very few scholarships and the cost for one year’s study (six years for medical and 4-years for other courses) including all expenses amounted to about $1,500. This was a very high figure when compared with the starting salary of a clerical officer in Government at about $40.00 per month. With the exception of a Government trade school in Wanchai training radio operators and junior technicians and a training school for teachers in vernacular schools, there were no other vocational schools, at least no public institutions for education.

Our development after World War II is well-known, but that in the field of vocational and tertiary education in recent years is not always appreciated. For example, the combined enrolment for our two universities today is about 9,000 students, while that of the Hong Kong Polytechnic reaches a total of about 25,000 full-time and equivalent part-time students. More significant is our current policy that no students who qualify and get admitted shall be prevented from enrolment due to financial circumstances, and scholarships, bursary grants and loans are offered to ensure that a student has the means to pursue his studies to graduation. As a result, higher education is no longer the preserve of students from better-to-do families, and statistics show to the contrary that over 60% of university and polytechnic students obtained financial assistance in one form or another.

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The net result is that, as Government statistics show, 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 continued their education to that level. Thus a conscientious son from a former resettlement home who subsequently qualified as a doctor, or accountant or engineer, could have substantially raised the financial and social status of the family of a hawker or labourer. Thus while the pressure on the young man to make good is understandably great, and competition very keen, he has at least been given an opportunity.

It is to be regretted that opportunities are very limited in comparison with the many seekers, and that competition has indeed been very keen. However this situation is not uncommon in places with growing affluence due to successful industrial development, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore being perfect examples.

Today, qualified doctors, engineers, technologists and executives in business and Government command higher pay in Hong Kong than in many other countries including the United Kingdom. We still engage many expatriates for lack of suitable local people, and surveys taken two months after graduation showed that over 94% of Polytechnic graduates got jobs or were pursuing further studies. Furthermore the fact that about 10,000 students are forced to go overseas every year for higher education, all indicate that our demand for tertiary education graduates remains great. In this respect, however, the growing discrimination against foreign students by some overseas universities particularly those financed by public funds deserves to be noted.

I believe therefore that an unemployment situation for graduates would not exist in Hong Kong, at least not in the foreseeable future. I also believe that such conditions could only occur in depressed economies or backward countries with basic social ills, and Hong Kong cannot afford to be either. Indeed Hong Kong must rely on making the best use of its only resource, an enterprising and industrious population, to avoid such pitfalls and the best way to ensure this is through better education and training opportunities.

Of more concern to us is the relevance of the education. Local business and the 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, as, unlike Government or other public service, not many commercial concerns can afford the time and facilities for further training of graduates without some assurance of their willing to stay on at the completion of the training.

There is also one other point. In overseas universities for example, as in the United States, academic activities of faculty members normally reflect

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or are related to 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 topic would have great attraction in both developed and developing countries world wide.

Perhaps by encouraging our academics to look more towards this direction could bring about significant contributions in helping to solve some of our own problems, and to reduce to some extent the necessity to hire so many foreign experts. I would strongly recommend this approach to our University administrations.

I would like to voice support for a pilot programme of part-time degrees, and believe that this could find a way to help realize the aspiration of many people, who, due to circumstances, have not been able to enjoy a university education earlier. I feel that, for example, this will go some way in helping to reduce the frequent disputes and grievances between non-graduates civil servants and the Government as an employer, as avenues would be open for those prepared to work for a degree for advancement in their career. We have huge investments, mainly by public funds, in our campus facilities, and these ought to be fully utilized. Again, university education must not be unduly limited for the elite and fortunate few.

Vocation and Technical Education―Viability through increased productivity I believe that by now every Hong Kong resident knows that for our industry, our life blood, to meet increasing competition and growing protectionism, we have to diversify to more sophisticated industries, products and markets, in addition to raising our productivity. Apart from internal development and training within the factories, the great expansions of the Polytechnic and the Technical Institutes have come about most timely to meet a very urgent need.

It is to be expected that in the years to come Hong Kong industry and commerce will be using more and more sophisticated equipment such as automated or even computer controlled machines on the shop floor or office. It is important that apart from the very basics, these institutions be able to acquaint students with the slightly more advanced theory and practice in the operation of these new machines. This would also go a long way to sustain the interest of students, many of them are already working and studying part-time. I therefore welcome the idea that the Technical Teachers College would be giving a longer period of training to intending teachers. Indeed it would be difficult to expect a normal school leaver, of average intelligence, to teach craft and skill after only two years of training. I had earlier suggested that the College could perhaps take in Higher Certificate or Higher Diploma graduates from the Polytechnic, and give them a year’s training on teaching

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techniques and familarization of practice in industry and commerce. They would also be better teachers in schools on technical subjects.

I welcome the development of a credit unit programme of study in Technical Institutes whereby ‘Course Units’ may be obtained by full-time, part-time day or by evening study, and enable the student to move eventually to the Polytechnic where the ‘units’ would be recognized. I do so with the same reason as for the part-time degree courses mentioned earlier.

It is to be regretted that places in the part-time day-release courses in the Technical Institutes are very much under-utilized, although it is not so surprising, for, as I understand, the same situations occur in the UK, and the blame could not be put solely on the employers. Students too find that this once-a-week interrupted manner of attendance difficult to follow, and soon lose interest. I do not believe that any compulsory action by Government will be of avail. I understand however that, in direct contrast, the evening classes do not have enough places for applicants. In view of this, I believe it would be opportune at this stage to have a realistic evaluation of the situation.

I spoke in this Council on Adult Education in January last year, and wish to re-affirm my views on the importance of this aspect of continuing education, as are or may be provided by our existing institutions.

I believe that Government now truly recognizes the importance of technical and further education in the advancement of the vocational competence of our people that is so vital to our economic well-being. Such education is becoming an important component of Hong Kong’s resources that makes for a skilled and adaptable labour force, personal work satisfaction, technological development and economic growth. Many men and women in the labour force however have no formal educational qualification at the trade, technician or other vocational level. Most people in our labour force who become qualified as skilled workers, other than at the professional level, do so the hard way. They do not have anything approaching equality of access to vocational education with those preparing for a livelihood by full-time attendance at the University, the Polytechnic or a Technical Institute.

The demand for education throughout life can be expected to grow, not simply because of changes in technology and social advancement but also because people will become increasingly aware of the practical advantages that it gives them in respect of employment and livelihood. Recurrent opportunities for technical and further education should be available to people of all ages regardless of minimum formal educational entry requirements or of current employment status.

People who seek or gain qualifications do so mainly to enhance their job prospects. They assume that course content is vocationally relevant, at least up to date technologically and socially, and perhaps even ahead of general practice in industry, commerce, and community services.

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Industry and the community have similar expectations in this respect. They assume that vocationally oriented courses are being designed in terms of industry’s job requirements, and for the growing but specific job requirements of the various branches of community service.

In my view, a greater number of individuals than now would seek to make themselves more effective economically or socially, if the problems of access to adult education could be alleviated.

As a spin-off, energetic young people after school years may have thus been encouraged to embark on a useful pursuit in career rather than succumb to the many evil temptions that abound in any big city like ours.

Sir, I support the motion.

MR CHEONG-LEEN:―

The Objective

Sir, the debate on this Green Paper centers on the development of Senior Secondary and Tertiary Education for the decade of the 80’s. It is a subject of crucial significance to Hong Kong’s social and economic future.

As has already been pointed out by several speakers the most vital and prolific asset we possess is our 4.6 million people. They create material wealth, advance social values, and uplift Hong Kong’s cultural and spiritual life.

We plan to arrive at 9 years of free and compulsory education by 1981. On this foundation, we have to build a higher educational structure that is aligned to the material and spiritual wants of the community.

We are required to raise the level of technology, so that Hong Kong remains keenly competitive with other Asian territories in terms of manufactured exports and service-oriented industries. In so doing, we will take care of the material wants of our people and give them a high living standard.

Complementary to this, we have also to encourage their cultural and spiritual well-being, for is it not said in the Bible that ‘Man does not live by bread alone’. For Hong Kong’s 99% Chinese population, there is a rich cultural heritage to rejuvenate the spirit, while the British connection ensures that we remain staunchly internationalist in our thinking, attitudes and actions.

Sir, as a layman and non-educationalist, that is what I believe to be the purpose and objective of senior secondary and tertiary education for Hong Kong in the coming decade.

Caput Schools

It will be a race against time to provide 3 years of junior secondary education by 1981. Even more arduous will it be to find subsidized Form IV places for 50% of the 15-year old population by the same year. But this will have to be

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done by the Government, as the long-term aim has to be universal senior secondary education for all who want it.

Naturally, the quality of teacher training will come under severe strain because of rapid educational expansion. The Government claims that because of financial constraints it has to allow many second-rate ‘caput’ schools to remain in existence. It even wants to build more ‘caput’ schools in the New Territories, again because of financial constraints. Is the clear inference then that Government is happy to supply second-rate education to children living in the New Territories? Surely, social justice insists that Government commits itself to absorbing the ‘caput’ schools into the Code of Aid for Secondary Schools within―and at the very latest―five years from now.

Vocational vs Academic Education

There is the universal conundrum of what is the right mixture of vocational and academic education that is acceptable or good for the community.

We are aware that because of China’s rich cultural past, every Chinese family wants to have its children studying up to university level. This of course is not possible, since university places are limited. It is therefore up to the Government to make vocational education more attractive and more rewarding.

The aim of vocational as against academic education is to develop the marketable skills of those who do not go on to tertiary education, to make them economically independent and to give them a sense of social belonging within the community.

Last year, 80,000 students sat for the Certificate of Education Examination. Does Government know how many of those who did not proceed to higher education were unable to find jobs, because either they did not have the requisite vocational skills to work in a factory or workshop, or they did not want to use their hands to earn a living?

Are there sufficient resources and co-ordination devoted to career planning in the secondary schools and in the Labour Department to assist students to find jobs when they leave school? Is there a conscious policy within Government to enhance the social standing, the mental well-being, and the self-respect of the blue collar or skilled worker in Hong Kong? I believe that much is lacking in this respect.

It is a practical necessity if industry is to flourish in the New Territories for Government to build more technical institutes and secondary technical schools, on the clear understanding that they are properly and fully equipped, and the teaching standard is high. If that is not done, public money will be wasted.

At the sixth-form and tertiary levels, there are a range of opportunities available at the two universities, the polytechnic and the post-secondary

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colleges. As new capital-intensive and technology-oriented industries expand in the early 80’s, the output of technologists and technicians will have to meet the needs of such industries. Careful planning and co-ordination will be required.

In Japan, where 93% of the school population advance to senior high school education, there is a new trend towards vocational training, since even in Japan not every senior high school graduate will be able to enter a university.

I understand new curriculum guidelines have just been announced by the education authorities there for implementation commencing April 1982 which will permit senior high schools to train students in such fields as hotel management, hair-dressing, tourism, photography, cooking, and even acting, baseball playing and sumo wrestling.

The new guidelines are designed to give senior high school students more opportunities for vocational training and to make such education diversified and flexible.

I do not advocate that Hong Kong should necessarily follow Japan’s example, but I do wish to stress that, as in Japan, we in Hong Kong should ensure that our senior secondary school education (a) becomes more universal, and (b) is flexibly adapted to our economic, social and cultural circumstances.

It would seem requisite for the Education Department to actively encourage more junior secondary school leavers to receive vocational training for employment after they finish Form III. The different types of vocational training will have to relate to community needs as well as to the abilities, aptitudes or interests of the students. The emphasis will then be ‘Learning through work experience’ or as the Japanese put it using Chinese characters ‘Kinro taiken gakushu’(勤勞體驗學習 ).

Such a practical approach towards vocational training in post junior secondary education could conceivably give students a chance to enjoy a more pleasant school life free from excessive study and examination loads, and allow them a little more time for outdoor recreation and physical training, which are so sadly insufficient in Hong Kong.

In aiming at universal senior secondary education, we will be planning for a higher standard of knowledge and education within the community; this in turn will equip our young people to more easily adjust to the technological and environmental changes in the decade of the 80’s.

Chinese University

Due to the limited availability of university education in Hong Kong, it is not likely that there will be over-provision of university graduates in the coming decade.

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Careful thought however has to be given to the future complementary role of the Hong Kong University and the Chinese University. It would be mistaken zeal to press the Chinese University to cut back at this time its four-year degree courses to three years so as to convert it into a replica of the Hong Kong University.

The role of the Chinese University is to foster Chinese thought and culture, and it should be permitted to do so with flexibility. This role will be enhanced as China emerges more fully on the international scene in the decade of the 80’s.

Perhaps I might digress here and say how distressing it is that there is such a paucity of up-to-date text-books in the Chinese language suitable for Chinese secondary schools. What are the reasons for this? Have Government and the Chinese University done any research and what are the conclusions?

Another flaw in the Chinese education system here is the disinterest shown in the teaching of the Mandarin dialect in secondary schools. Mandarin (國 語 ) or more strictly speaking P’u-T’ung Hua (普通話 ) is the universal dialect among Chinese in Asia and its use will become of more practical consequence to Hong Kong people in the decade of the 80’s. Perhaps this is an area where Education Television can move into when resources permit both for the schools and the adult education field.

Post-secondary Colleges

I fully support Your Excellency the Governor’s recent statement that there will be a useful and honourable role for the approved post-secondary colleges when the Government’s plans are finalized for senior secondary and tertiary education. This gives comfort and hope to many who have devoted the better part of their lives to further the cause of higher education in these colleges. Manifestly, steps will have to be taken to assess their facilities and standards to see whether they can achieve recognition equivalent to that of university status.

Adult Education

In the realm of Adult Education, I see the need for closer co-ordination and longer-term planning on the part of Government.

Government’s role in the Green Paper seems to be narrowly limited to improving the operating standards of the Education Department’s Adult Education Section. Surely there is an immediate need for the setting up of a central body or council to better co-ordinate the Government and the non- Government sponsored adult education services, and to create a meaningful long-term plan.

In the United States, Canada and Scandinavia, Adult Education is now called ‘Continuing Education’. For UNESCO, the United Nations Agency,

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it is known as ‘Life Long Education’. This brings to mind two well-known Chinese sayings:

(活到老﹐學到老 )

Live to an old age, learn to an old age.

and

(十年樹木﹐百年樹㆟ )

It takes ten years to grow a tree, a hundred to educate a man.

Adult Education or Continuing Education is a life-long process, and deserves more attention, financial support and close co-ordination on the part of Government.

Finally, a word on the cost of education in Hong Kong. Throughout the Green Paper there is reference to financial restraints and implications. It is stated that the various proposals would add 10% to expenditure arising from existing policies. If, arising from the various constructive proposals made by the public to expand facilities even more and improve the quality of teaching, a further increase in expenditure is called for, my belief is that the community will go along with it, even if it meant a half-percent increase in the earnings and profits tax and/or in the general rate or finding the funds by other fiscal means.

The greatness of a people derives from its history, its civilization, and its dedication to learning. The more resources we devote to our education system, in range and quality, the better will be our chances to survive and hold our own in this interlocking and fiercely competitive world.

Sir, I support the motion.

DR FANG:―Sir, in this important Green Paper which contains Government’s proposals on the expansion and development of senior secondary and tertiary education in Hong Kong over the next decade, I am surprised that the provision of facilities for disabled students is confined to three sentences in paragraph 7.10. I wish to seek an assurance that in the forward planning of senior secondary and tertiary education the special needs of handicapped students who are capable of receiving higher education will be met. I am referring to access and transportation problems faced by these students, the need for special equipment, resource teachers and other peripatetic services required by them. In so far as possible, the disabled students should be given the opportunity to attend ordinary schools but the need to provide special senior secondary schools for the severely handicapped should be kept under constant review.

The disabled are already handicapped by their disability. It is hoped that they can be given the full opportunities of higher education to enable them to be better equipped to fend for themselves in life.

Sir, with these remarks, I support the motion.

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MISS KO:―Your Excellency, public expenditure on education in recent years has accounted for over 20% of the total budget, representing the largest single item of expenditure. It is heartening that Government will continue to emphasize the provision of educational services, especially by increasing the opportunities at senior secondary and tertiary levels.

Form IV―Form V Education

Although at present it may be thought undesirable on social, economic and educational grounds for Government to provide subsidized senior secondary places for all students who have completed Form III, universal senior secondary education should be the long-term aim of Government, and I hope that post-Form III places will be increased as rapidly as possible.

I therefore welcome Government’s commitment to increase the provision of subsidized Form IV and Form V places for the 15 and 16-year olds by 1986, and its aim to provide more than 80% of the 15-year-old population with places in Form IV or technical institutes. I also welcome the opportunities available for technical training, as obviously there is a real need for such opportunities in Hong Kong. However, as only a very small percentage of the population will have the opportunity of a university education, I think it very important that all our young people should be given a general education at the secondary school level, both in the grammar schools and the technical institutes. This education should include language skills, cultural and social education so that they can more easily adapt and find a place in the community. Of course, many parents have yet to be convinced of the importance and value of technical training in an industrial society and I suggest that Government makes a greater effort to publicize the opportunities in this field.

Sixth Form Education

I am quite concerned about the limited number of places available in post Form V courses. According to the expansion planned in the Green Paper, by 1981 only 23.7% of the appropriate age group will find a place in post Form V courses which are subsidized by Government. Even if this increases to 32.8% by 1986, we must ensure that the percentage does not fall behind the minimum acceptable in other comparable societies. As Hong Kong will advance to a more developed stage of industrialization with a corresponding demand for a higher education level in the labour force, I do not think that the planned expansion of educational opportunities after Form V will be sufficient to meet the future need. Government must regularly review the planned ratio and increase the number of places wherever such an increase in deemed desirable and feasible.

The curricula for the sixth form, both one-year and two-year courses, should be complete in themselves. In particular, I consider it very important that the one-year sixth form course is not just the first half of the two-year course.

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As in 1976, I would again ask Government to consider one joint matriculation examination in Hong Kong so that the two universities serve the best of our young people, even though the Chinese University may retain its four-year courses.

Post-secondary Colleges

Sir, I could not agree more with what His Excellency the Governor said recently at a ceremony at a post-secondary college, that the time had come to design an integrated system of post-secondary education ‘which will have diversified educational opportunities, meet the practical needs of our economy and society, and be within our means to provide’; and that any plan which does not include a proper use of the registered post-secondary colleges would be wasting valuable assets.

Dr Rayson HUANG spoke in detail on this topic yesterday and I should like to fully support this views on the need for post-secondary colleges to offer two or four-year courses after fifth form level. The qualification at the end of two years study would be equivalent to that of ‘A’ level and at the end of another two years a higher certificate or diploma would be awarded. Furthermore, these qualifications should be transferable within the educational system so that the possibility of a university education can be made available to graduates of post-secondary colleges. I hope that Government will assess the capabilities of the post secondary colleges, both qualitative and quantitative, and provide them with sufficient support and financial assistance, such as an annual subvention or grant.

Teachers’ Training

Colleges of education now provide a valuable opportunity for those who wish to make teaching their career. I welcome the suggestion to increase the number of places for the third year of study, as more and more graduates from the colleges will be teaching in secondary schools. Furthermore, since a greater number of students will now proceed to the sixth form, students admitted to the colleges should have attained matriculation standard. Part- time courses for untrained serving teachers should be continued as there will always be some who take up teaching without appropriate training or without realizing the need for it. Administration courses for senior teachers and refresher courses are also desirable.

Although school social work will be expanded in the near future, teachers in schools will continue to play a significant role in identifying students at risk and initially provide the necessary guidance and help. Therefore there is a need to provide adequate training in human growth and development, psychology, counselling methods and sufficient practice in using these during college years. More attention should also be paid to the selection of candidates for teacher training with the suitable personal qualities for the teaching profession.

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Part-time University Education and Flexibility

Although 3,500 university places will be added in the next decade, the increase will certainly lag behind the increased demand for university education. Of course, we cannot expand the two universities without considering the employment prospects for their graduates. There are however good reasons to support the introduction of part-time programmes in suitable courses, mainly at post-graduate levels, which will lead to professional or higher qualifications and/or recognition. This development would also go a long way towards securing the training of specialists who at present must be recruited from abroad. Given the proper training Hong Kong young men and women would be capable of filling such posts both in the Government and in the private sector.

For economic reasons or because a suitable replacement is quite unavailable, employers often find it extremely difficult to release their experienced staff for training or further study on a full-time basis and on the part of the employees they may not be able to afford full-time study as this would deprive them of their immediate income. Those who have left school after Form VI and have taken up employment for financial or other reasons could also benefit from the introduction of part-time courses. These would provide scope for further self fulfilment and improvement, especially for those who have already chosen their particular sphere of work, without leaving Hong Kong. I would very much support the provision of further opportunities for part-time study at all levels for mature students.

I consider it important that the whole educational system is flexible enough to encourage HOPE in individuals who are anxious to improve themselves, to allow opportunities for transfer from one discipline to another, for the unqualified worker to earn a certificate, the lower certified technician to obtain a diploma, and the diploma holder to study for a degree. This demands co-operation, careful planning, and concern for every individual from each educational institution. I stress that there should always be hope― even though the doorway may be narrow―for hard working or exceptional individuals to attain their full potential.

Adult Education

There is no need for me to stress again the importance of adult or continuing education here, as there was an adjournment debate on this subject last year. We are all aware that adult education or continuing education or life-long education help better our society by educating the individual to become a more useful and responsible citizen and to raise the quality of life of the people in our rapidly changing community. Of course, I agree to the proposal to strengthen the adult education courses operated by Government. However, the voluntary sector is again neglected. There is a lack of comprehensive planning, both with regard to quality and scope, and no firm commitment has been made on the part of Government. I think it is now time to develop

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an overall policy on adult education, the need for which the Director of Education has already recognized.

Quantity and Quality

This Green Paper covers far-reaching plans for the future of education in Hong Kong. The expansion programme is good, but I most sincerely hope that the implementation of these plans will ensure not just an increase in the quantity of education but an obvious improvement in the quality.

Sir, with these remarks, I support the motion.

MR T. S. LO:―Sir, the scenario for university education in Hong Kong is not rosy. Only 2½% of those in Primary 6 today will have a chance of going to a university here. Accordingly many of those who could afford it have been sending their children abroad, and parents have been doing this despite the pain associated with the attendant long periods of separation from their children during formative years. Many more of course cannot afford it, and as a result have had to suffer the frustration of knowing that their offspring will never benefit from a university education, even though they have the necessary intelligence to do so. Moreover, the recent dramatic increase in educational costs abroad can only increase the number of those who will be denied university education on purely financial grounds.

Quite apart from the obvious moral issues involved, it is unhealthy for any society to have an increasingly large number of frustrated and intelligent people who can see that Government and quasi Government in recent years have imported vast numbers from overseas on account of their higher qualifications and who know that given the chance many people locally could easily have acquired similar qualifications.

One obvious solution is to relax and even remove the present statutory prohibition against the granting of degrees and allow complete freedom to do so. There are basically three arguments used against allowing such complete freedom in the granting of degrees. One is that there would be a resulting lowering of standards which would be bad educationally; the second is that it might tend to depreciate the coinage of a degree granted by a good local university; and the third is that our society needs many more people trained in high technology rather than to have them merely holding general degrees for which there are not enough jobs.

Against the first argument I would say that any post secondary establishment which is not permitted to grant degrees today will hardly lower its educational standards just because it is empowered tomorrow to grant degrees. Indeed, if anything, to have the right to grant degrees must tend to improve the standard of teaching and facilities rather than the opposite.

Against the second argument I would say that we could adopt the American system of accrediting certain universities or certain courses within a university

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so that the general coinage of a degree would not be depreciated. Moreover, there is the additional point that depreciating the coinage is no bad thing if it acts as a brake on our brain-drain.

The third argument is that whilst personal ambition would tend to make a degree course more desirable to a student, what our society needs today instead is people trained in high technology. It is therefore arguable that if we left it entirely to market forces Hong Kong would have a surfeit of M.A.’s and a shortfall of technical people. But why can’t we not have more degrees for high technology? Indeed if more than lip service is paid to this argument then why it is that the Government has still not amended the Polytechnic Ordinance so as to permit the Polytechnic to grant degrees, particularly as we do need high level technical manpower trained in subjects not taught in the other Universities. If it is the question of standards why has not the Government given sufficient encouragement to the Polytechnic to upgrade its standards to enable it to offer degree courses? Has this been the result of jealousy of some or the miserliness of others?

By a number of Ordinances the Government has grasped wide powers in education in order severely to control the establishment of any place of learning and severely to restrict the right to grant degrees. I think it is wrong educationally, and dangerous politically to maintain this position of control without having the will or the ability to exercise it properly.

The administration must select one of two options: if it intends to retain the stranglehold that it has on education then it must redouble its efforts and dramatically improve its performance. Otherwise it should reduce control. Any outdated system which prevents a substantial number of intelligent people from fully developing their talents and ability will build up uncontrollable pressures which are socially disruptive.

MR ALEX WU:―Sir, the main theme of the Green Paper could fairly be described as relevance: the relevance of our educational system to the pattern of our society.

Unfortunately, I think, the Green Paper has taken too narrow a view of relevance, concentrating almost entirely on the economic aspects. It is certainly right that we should cut our coats according to our cloth. Hong Kong has always been sensible enough to live within its means and that principle must apply even to education. However, this argument should not be taken too far.

There is more than one specific reference to the undesirability of educating young people beyond the capacity of the economy to employ their talents, and to some extent this thread runs through the whole document.

The thinking behind the proposals of the Green Paper seems to me unnecessarily utilitarian.

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That may only be a fault of expression but it reflects an important principle which deserves examination and clarification.

Superficially it may seem very realistic to measure educational needs against the demands of the economy. In fact this is to ignore many fundamental features of the philosophy of education and Chinese culture as well as many significant changes in the life style of Hong Kong.

Let me first of all consider the nature and quality of education as it is understood in the Chinese culture. I do not intend to embark on a profound philosophical dissertation but it is appropriate to suggest one aspect where Chinese and Western ideas on education hardly meet at all.

It is very noticeable that Chinese public opinion often calls for the inculcation, as part of education, of correct attitudes in matters of morals, ethics and social behaviour generally. Equally noticeable is the reluctance of westerners recently to accept that moral attitudes can realistically be embodied in a modern educational curriculum. Sometimes, indeed, there is an assumption that the attempt to incorporate moral teaching in education is a mere lip service, or even hypocritical.

This attitude, if I may say so, reveals a misunderstanding of Chinese confidence in education, and it is not difficult to trace its origin.

The development of universal education coincided, in England, with the full flowering of Victorian society with the underlying hypocrisy and double standards which were to be decisively rejected by a later and better educated generation. The sad consequence of enlightenment was that the teaching of morality as an element in education came to be distrusted as a fraud.

Some western societies have virtually abandoned moral and ethical teaching as a feature of formal education but that does not mean that it has no place in other cultures.

That is no reason why we should assume that there is no place for morals―or culture ―in our education system.

I do not raise this question in order to advocate a wholesale effort to cure the ills of society in the classroom. That is precisely where the Victorians went wrong: their moral teaching did not accord with the facts of society. It was, indeed, irrelevant.

I make this point about different attitudes to the purpose and potential of education because it illustrates some of the factors which educational planning must take into account.

There are different attitudes and expectations and an educational system which ignores them cannot be truly relevant.

Fifteen or so years ago we used to regret the rigid attitude of parents who opted for an academic education at all costs and spurned the technical schools.

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A great deal has changed in the last fifteen years and we must make sure that our educational planning is relevant to present day attitudes and life styles.

Parents today have certainly relaxed their attitude to technical or vocational as opposed to academic education, and so have their children.

But this does not mean that we can ignore the desire or the need for a broad education for all students, whatever their academic status or their employment prospects.

We must remember how many other changes there have been in the last fifteen years. Then we were still a ‘cultural desert’. Look at us now: the City Hall and the Arts Centre are only two of the organizations catering for an entirely new appetite for the performing and the visual arts.

These developments are a reflection of progressive public policy, including education itself. This progressive process must continue.

No-one should misunderstand the nature of the new attitudes to education. Parents, and students, have realistically accepted the advantages of technical and technological training. That does not mean they have abandoned their expectations that education, as distinct from training, should be a complete, many-sided experience which prepares an individual, whatever his ultimate position in the economic system, for full participation in the responsibilities and the pleasures of society.

These expectations will not be satisfied if the cultural aspects of education are relegated to an extra-curricular fringe.

When I read the Green Paper I had the feeling that there is a reluctance to treat culture as a serious aspect of education. I suspect that this stems from the same feeling that cultural precepts are unsuitable subjects for the classroom.

Perhaps it is thought that we can only afford to expend our educational resources on instruction which yields a direct return in increased skills at work.

Even that sterile approach is open to serious question on its own terms. In a world of rapidly changing technology the most effective work-force is that which is adaptable, receptive to new ideas and capable of learning new skills. The pre-requisite is a broad education rather than a narrow one.

We must not think of education as a vocational preparation for a pattern of economic activity at a point in time, or even for a predictable future. We do not have a predictable future. We have a future full of challenge and we can only succeed by being flexible and innovative.

The Green Paper says: ‘The Government believes that, if well deployed, the resources devoted to education may increase the capability of the labour

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force to adapt to new techniques in production and new patterns in employment, factors which are undoubtedly conducive to economic growth if other circumstances are favourable.’

The sentence comes from the last paragraph of the paper and may be assumed to sum up the philosophy of planning for secondary and tertiary education.

If so, it is an inadequate view because it is not the amount of technical education which makes a young man or woman adaptable. Behind all technical instruction must lie a sound general education with a much higher standard of language skill than is presently displayed in our schools, a much wider background of reading, and familiarity with the learning process not only as it is related to acquiring specific technical skills.

The concluding sentence of the Green Paper, four lines out of nearly two thousand, deals with what should have been its constant theme: ‘Furthermore, a better educated society should be more capable of coming to terms with its social problems and of enjoying constructively the benefits of a high standard of living.’

Once again, I think, this statement misses the point. It suggests that the fundamental aspect of education is merely a fortunate by-product of a system devised primarily to meet the economic needs of a particular form of society. The truth is that education, even where it has a strong technical or technological bias, must keep this fundamental objective in plain view all the time.

Nothing that I have said should be taken as doubting the need for an increased amount and an improved quality of technical education.

I am concerned that we should not let anyone think that technical education is a different kind of thing altogether, a second best for the less gifted. That is unfortunately the impression which comes over from several key phrases in the Green Paper: ‘The needs of the abler section of the population’ … ‘Many young people will continue to choose to enter employment at the age of 15 and will require their secondary education to be designed with this aim in mind.’

Those are depressing thoughts for those on the receiving end. Surely this was just the attitude which made it so difficult to persuade parents and students that secondary modern schools and technical schools were not a poor second best, and forced students into unsuitable academic competition.

We should be broadening every type of education― and I do not regard the introduction of classes in Art and Design, Dressmaking and Commerce in Secondary IV and V as a serious attempt to do that.

I cannot accept the reluctance of the Green Paper to deal constructively with the educational value of the pure arts as opposed to their industrial and commercial applications.

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The paper makes no bones about it. The luckless technical student will have to pick up their appreciation of the arts from evening classes or adult centres when it is very likely that many will have lost habit of, and the motives for, study. ‘While seeking to broaden the vocational spectrum’ says the Green Paper, ‘Government does not consider that ’Liberal studies‘ should be introduced as part of the regular curriculum in the technical institutes’. I think that is a regrettable decision and I hope it will be reconsidered.

The arguments for this proposition in the Green Paper are not strong. They are that students might find ‘Liberal ants’ an unnecessary diversion from their technical studies and that in any case there are no staff capable of conducting worthwhile courses.

The answer to the first argument is that it is the Education Department which determines whether a subject will receive proper attention by its place in the curriculum, and the examination system.

The second argument is a sad comment on the quality of our teacher training and something we should tackle firmly and urgently.

It would be difficult to find staff capable of conducting courses of real value, as the Green Paper says, for the simple reason that the Colleges of Education devote precisely one hour a week to ‘Cultural and Creative Activities’ which, I am told, include ‘photograph, Chinese seal engraving, music, trampolining etc.’

This information casts some doubt on the Green Paper’s claim that music is well established in the Junior Secondary Schools. How could it be when most teachers are unqualified and most schools poorly equipped?

I believe that if greater emphasis were given to the teaching of Music as a general Matriculation subject, and if qualified full time teachers were available, the real interest in music would be evident.

With the establishment of the Music Administrator’s Office, which is making tremendous progress in the development of music among young people, facilities are available in various centres which would make this possible and practicable.

I only refer to music because the references to music teaching in the Green Paper exemplify its failure to treat education as a complete cultivation of the individual.

I began by questioning the relevance of the Green Paper’s assumptions and I return to that question. Can anyone looking around Hong Kong today fail to see that our education system must be relevant to our whole life style, not just to the needs of the working day? Our life style is one of increasing leisure in which thousands and thousands of young people should have the opportunity for recreation in the broadest sense of that word.

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It is not good enough for the Green Paper to devote itself exclusively to a blueprint for secondary and tertiary education in utilitarian terms and only in a final paragraph to recognize, as a afterthought, the wider values. I trust that the forthcoming White Paper will not be afraid to talk about culture or to relate a realistic education system to those values which are expected of the truly educated man.

Sir, before I resume my seat I would like to present certain views on the Green Paper vis-a-vis our industrial manpower requirements as expressed in a speech written by my honourable Friend Mr Francis TIEN who is at present indisposed. I am sure that what he says on this important matter will be of interest to this Council and I quote:

‘The 1974 White Paper on Secondary Education envisaged an increase of subsidized places in Forms 4 and 5 from 20% to 40% of the age-group. The present Green Paper proposes to increase this target to 50% and this means that in the target year 1981, the public sector together will provide some 46,800 subsidized Form 4 places. With the drop in the size of the 15 year-old population due to a declining birth rate, a similar provision of places in 1986 will mean catering for some 63% of the Form 3 leavers. The remaining 37% of the Form 3 leavers i.e. 27,700 young persons will enter employment only if they choose to do so. But what would more likely happen is that they would continue full-time education to Forms 4 and 5 or beyond.

I must point out that if the number of Form 4 places in private independent schools remains at the current level i.e. 25,000 there will be sufficient Form 4 places for almost all Form 3 leavers in 1986. A situation may therefore arise where few Form 3 leavers will choose to enter employment and as a result, both industry and technical institutes will be competing with the independent schools for these Form 3 leavers. This would not only lead to decreasing support for courses in technical institutes but also have a most serious effect on the future development of our industry.

I have referred to the support that the community might give to the independent schools and this point is made not without foundation. Honourable Members will recall that the Director of Education said in this Council not so long ago that some parents still preferred to send their children to schools outside the public sector. Although this remark was chiefly made in reference to universal free and compulsory primary schooling, I believe that it applies just as well to universal junior secondary and other schooling. Moreover, as education will be free up to completion of Form 3, most parents of those young persons who cannot gain a subsidized Form 4 place would want their children to complete Forms 4 and 5 in independent schools even if this means paying high fees. So the net result would be in the short term, a disruption of the manpower supply to industry at the operative and craft levels and in the long term, all young persons would take the

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opportunity to complete Forms 4 and 5 and by then, very few would be willing to take up craft and operative jobs.

To ensure that there would be an adequate number of young people with the right education background to enter employment in industry, I strongly urge the Government to expand the prevocational stream of education. This stream, which has a closer link with apprenticeship and technical institutes than the general stream, is highly regarded by employers in industry. The Committee on Vocational Training of the Training Council has estimated that the annual intake to prevocational schools should be expanded from the present 3,000 to about 10,000 per year.

The Green Paper has spelled out that it is right for a substantial proportion of our young persons to continue their post-Form 3 education on a part-time basis in conjunction with employment. I am in full agreement with this proposal and I am glad to note that the number of first-year post- Form 3 places in technical institutes is to be increased from the present 9,300 to 15,100 in 1986. Coupled with this increase, I hope to see adult education opportunities expanded to cater for those Form 3 leavers who come out to work but who wish to continue general education to Form 5 or even matriculation level on a part-time basis. This would increase the range of part-time courses available to workers with Form 3 background.

I now turn to the subject of tertiary education and would like to touch on the point that our manpower needs and the ability of the economy to absorb tertiary education graduates, should be crucial in our planning of technically―based places, not only in the Polytechnic but also at the universities. There is an increasing number of graduates returning to Hong Kong after completing their tertiary education overseas and their presence must not be overlooked as a source of supply of tertiary education graduates to industry and commerce. In planning the provision for university and Polytechnic places in engineering diciplines, due consideration must be given to the availability of post-graduate practical training opportunities in industry which are necessary if the graduates are to become useful engineers. Other-wise, as my honourable Friend Mr S. L. CHEN has said in this Council, we would be producing mere ‘paper’ engineers and not graduates of practical value to industry. It is therefore important that Government introduce appropriate measures along the lines recommended by the Training Council to ensure the availability of post-graduate practical training opportunities in industry.

Sir, we are at the start of another phase of industrial development aimed at the widening of our industrial base with the object of attracting overseas investments to Hong Kong by the establishment of high-technology industries. In order to sustain this ambitious programme of development it is of vital importance that Hong Kong should have a balanced general and technical education programme geared to the developing needs of her industry and

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 6 July 1978 1173 commerce. This should also be the main basis for the forthcoming White Paper.’ Sir, with these remarks, I support the motion.

MR CHEN:―Sir, one of the criticisms most frequently levelled at the Hong Kong education system is that it is too examination-ridden. Under our present secondary education system, the bulk of students are required to take three or even four public examinations before progressing to tertiary education. For example, the pressure of the Hong Kong Certificate of Education (HKCE) Examination is stifling to such an extent that both students and teachers concentrate their attention entirely on preparing for this examination. The result is that teachers try to cram into their students all that is in the syllabus and even more with the sole object that, having spent two years in post Form III studies, students may pass their examinations with flying colours. Moreover, after two years of cramming in Forms IV and V, many students who pass the Certificate of Education Examination proceed to Form VI to prepare for either the Matriculation Examinations of the Chinese University of Hong Kong or the University of Hong Kong. Those who fail to enter the Chinese University at the end of Lower Form VI spend yet another year of learning in Upper Form VI preparing for the Hong Kong University Matriculation Examination.

Clearly, there is a need to reduce the number of mind-boggling examinations, thus allowing intellectually developed students to be produced rather than examination robots. In this connection, I would like now to turn my attention to the proposal for a combined entrance examination for the two universities. I am sure we all agree that not all students can go on to university education and therefore accept that the completion of Form V marks the terminal point of secondary education. This being the case, I propose that the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination can and should be adopted as the examination for selecting suitable students for entrance to the universities. Only a pre-determined number of students, depending mainly on the intake capacity of the universities, will be selected. Those selected for entrance to the University of Hong Kong will be given a further two years of education, whilst those for Chinese University will be given one more year, to prepare them for joining the first year of the university courses without requiring them to sit for the Matriculation Examination as is required under the present system. This arrangement would undoubtedly enable the number of examinations to be reduced to a minimum, thus allowing those earmarked for the universities and their teachers to devote their time to the development of intellectual faculties and capabilities.

The basic argument for this proposal is that for a combined university entrance examination, a common terminal point in our secondary education process thas to be chosen. Since neither Lower Form VI nor Upper Form VI

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meet the present requirements of the two universities, and since Form V is the commonly accepted terminal point of secondary education, it is therefore both natural and logical that would be university students should be selected from Form V leavers based on the results of the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination. I believe this proposal would achieve savings by reducing the number of Lower and Upper Form VI places which are at present over-provided and also reduce the number of frustrated young people who, having successfully matriculated, only find that there are no places for them in the universities.

My next point concerns the quality of our secondary education. I do not, however, propose to deal with the academic quality or the ways and means of improving it. Instead, I would like to highlight one or two points which may have some effect on the general quality of our education.

I appreciate that to implement the rapid expansion in education as proposed in the Green Paper is indeed no mean task. To achieve the target to provide sufficient subsidized Form IV places for 50% of the 15-year-old population by September 1981, Government will have to implement a very intentive school building programme if these young people are to be accommodated in Government schools.

I would like to stress at this stage that there must be no compromise in the quality of education provided merely because the target figures have to be reached by a certain committed date. Moreover, the appalling experience of the failure of Government’s primary schools to attract student must not be allowed to repeat itself. With the latter thought in mind, I am of the opinion that a more cautious approach to the provision of school places should be made. Instead of going headlong into building many more Government schools, priority should be given to maximizing the expansion of the aided sector. The quality of the education provided by aided schools and the efficiency of their operations have long been proved and there is no reason to suspect that, given the necessary encouragement and support, the aided sector would not respond and expand sufficiently to cater for the need of additional Form IV and Form V places. Financially, this would mean saving the taxpayers money. Moreover, I believe that it would be better for Government to concentrate its efforts on supervision and inspection of schools rather than running more schools. This should help to ensure that the quality of education provided by our secondary schools is of an acceptable standard.

The Green Paper appears to have made no more than a cursory reference to the relationship between education and industry. Does our education system reflect the needs of Hong Kong? I have a feeling that few of our schools convey adequately to their students the fact that not only are we living in a highly competitive industrial society, but also that we rely on industry to create the wealth upon which our education and social services depend. It is important that our young people understand and appreciate the

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basis of the economy of our industrial community. Our secondary education has a responsibility in developing this understanding. But unfortunately, as things are at present, there are few in the teaching profession who really understand the problems of our industrial society and, as a result, are not in a position to enlighten their students in this respect and lead them to take an interest in an industrial career. Here is another area where more thought could be given to the development of this extra quality of our secondary education.

Sir, my last and most important point deals with the impact of the proposed development of education on industry, particularly on the supply of industrial manpower. As stated in the Green Paper, the Government’s prime objective for education over the next decade is to expand the opportunities for students to continue their education after completing Form III. In the 1974 White Paper, Government committed itself to providing subsidized Form IV and Form V places for 40% of the 15-16 year-old population. Whilst not disputing this decision, I have some doubts over the wisdom of the Green Paper’s proposal to increase this to 50% by 1981 and eventually to 63% by 1986, because I and my absent Friend, the Honourable Francis TIEN believe this will have an adverse effect on our future industrial manpower situation, particularly at the craft and operative levels.

To illustrate this point I table below the competitive position between subsidized schools, independent schools and technical institutes, resulting from the increase in full time places in senior secondary education, together with the declining population of the 15- year old.

Year 1981 Year 1986

(a) Age 15 population 93,650 74,500 (b) Subsidized F.4 places 46,800 46,800 (c) Independent school places 25,000 25,000 (See para. 4.9 of the Green Paper)

(a)-(b)-(c) 21,850 2,700

Technical Institutes

Full-time places 2,640 3,130 Part-time places 10,060 11,970 Total 12,700 15,100

Before dealing with the implications of these figures, I would like to quote a passage from the concluding paragraphs of the Green Paper. It states: ‘Education carries a high esteem in Hong Kong society and a high proportion of Hong Kong young people will probably continue to seek opportunities to remain in formal education for long after the minimum age of entry to employment’. Bearing this in mind, it would not be too difficult to visualize that most of the Form III leavers would prefer to proceed to Form IV and

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Form V formal education rather than to vocational education in technical institutes and less still to industry. The situation will be further aggravated by the fact that most parents, having saved the costs of providing their children with primary and junior secondary education, are likely to encourage their children to proceed to senior secondary education regardless of whether they can benefit from it or not. If they cannot get a subsidized place, they would seek a place in the independent schools. Because of the ready demand for such places, the independent schools will continue to survive and even flourish.

In these circumstances, it would be probable that by 1986 over 96% of our 15-year-old population would aim to complete at least Form V education. However, as there will be only a limited number of places available for education beyond Form V, the majority of the Form V leavers would not be able to get a place and the only practical alternative is for them to enter employment in industry or commerce. While some may say that it is good for industry to have a better educated work force, but one must also not lose sight of the fact that many of the Form V leavers would think, not without some justification, that they are too good for industry for the level of work in which most of them would be employed, namely craft and operative. The result would be that industry would be employing a group of frustrated young people.

It can be seen from the figures shown above that by 1986, or even earlier, a situation could arise when technical institutes would be grossly under- utilized and the entry into industry from our 15-year-old population, the right age and educational background for craft and operative training, would virtually be nil. Bearing in mind that the bulk of the technical institute courses are at the craft level, and the entry to which is Form III, a young person who has completed Form V may feel, irrespective of how he has fared in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination, that he is too good for a craft level course or a ‘blue collar’ career. The existence of the technical institutes, which are vital to industry’s future, will thus be seriously threatened.

However, the Green Paper states: ‘In the technically-based industry in Hong Kong, for every one person working at the technologist level there are more than 4 at the technician level and about 11 at the craft level’. If the bulk of our 15-year-olds choose to continue subsidized senior secondary education, then where is industry to find people for craft level training in order to produce sufficient skilled manpower to sustain our industrial activities?

I earnestly believe that the time has now come for a realistic review to be made of the number of subsidized senior secondary places to be provided for the 15-year-old. As alternatives to full-time formal general education, linked apprenticeship schemes and part time courses at technical institutes should be encouraged. Another expedient, which may be unpalatable to some

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but may nonetheless be necessary, is to control the number of post Form III places in the independent sector.

Sir, with these observations, I support the motion.

DR HU:―Sir, I must preface my remarks this afternoon by declaring my interest as the President of Shue Yan College, an approved post-secondary college. The Green Paper on Senior Secondary and Tertiary Education has dealt with nearly every aspect of post-Form III education, but I shall confine my remarks to that part of it on higher learning.

As I see it, Sir, the aims of higher education in Hong Kong should be threefold:

First, to cultivate virtue and a spirit of humanity among young people and as a basis for developing their own philosophies of life;

Second, to promote the freedom of learning in order to achieve academic distinction among the world famous institutions of higher learning; and

Third, to meet the actual needs of Hong Kong by training young persons to be efficient and well-balanced citizens for various services in the community.

It is obvious that we cannot provide every young person, who is qualified and willing, with an opportunity to receive higher education in the two Universities. It is therefore advisable that higher education in Hong Kong should be flexible so that any person who has missed the opportunity to pursue his studies at a university should have another chance to study at an institution of higher learning of comparable standards. It would be beneficial for the young people and institutions of higher learning as well as the community at large if close co-ordination and liaison over the course of studies could be established between the institutions and the Universities.

Higher education in Hong Kong should also be varied because both the needs of the community and the interests of the young people are manifold and of different nature. The Polytechnic will doubtless play a major role in promoting the industrial and commercial development of Hong Kong. But not all the young people wish to study technical subjects. A liberal and balanced education is good not only for them but for the community as a whole. I am glad that there are universities, post-secondary colleges, polytechnics, and technical institutes in Hong Kong, offering varied types of education and training. It is only when various types of education are offered to our young people that they can develop their potential to the fullest extent, and it is only when our young people develop their talent to the full that the community will get the maximum benefit. On this principle I am in favour of maintaining the status quo insofar as senior and tertiary education is concerned; that is to say that students can have more choice to suit their individual circumstances. When they finish Form VI, they can sit for the

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Chinese University Matriculation, or post-secondary colleges, or the Polytechnic entrance examinations or continue their studies in Form VII for the Advanced Level Examination of the Hong Kong University, or go abroad for further studies. Thus they have a number of options open to them. It is therefore advisable that the present system of providing a three year course of under-graduate studies at the Hong Kong University and a four-year one at the Chinese University of Hong Kong should be maintained. It would be unsound to have a uniform system of tertiary education in Hong Kong, or indeed in any other place.

While higher education should be varied and manifold, there should be a central and independent body such as the Hong Kong Examination Authority to award degrees and assess professional qualifications. In other countries, academic training is always separate from the granting of professional qualifications.

Finally, may I add, Sir, that young people who have received higher education but not an academic degree should not be barred from entering certain professions merely because they are not university graduates in the strictest sense of the term, if they have proved themselves to be competent by their actual service to the community. In this connection, I should point out that many of our most capable and successful people in Hong Kong do not have any university degree. If we arbitrarily limit their entry to these professions, it would be obviously a great loss to the community. Furthermore, the abolition of such an unnecessary and artificial barrier to advancement would make our younger generation much more contented and harder-working. The demand for entering a university and obtaining a degree would also be lessened. This would also help alleviate social pressure generated from the tremendous demand for tertiary education.

With these remarks, Sir, I support the motion.

MR YEUNG:―Sir, the actual extent of education to be provided for a community such as ours depends on such factors as the availability of funds and other resources, and the point of time when new or additional facilities can be provided. There can therefore be no absolute standards or criteria for the provision of education in Hong Kong.

Like the 1974 White Paper, this Green Paper covers only one sector of the overall educational opportunities which are to be made available to the people of Hong Kong. It may now be appropriate for Government to initiate a review of its educational policy and objectives in their entirety, ranging from nursery schools to tertiary education, and including continuing or adult education.

For senior secondary and tertiary education full opportunities for study should be made available according to the wishes of the student or those of his parents as long as the full educational bill is borne by himself or his family and not by the public. On the other hand, the same opportunities should not

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be denied to other worthwhile students for want of finance, lest the community should suffer as a whole. Therefore it is in the public interest that public funds should be made available to such students in providing them not only with tuition fees, living and subsistence allowances but also special payments in cases of hardship to help them support their families. This is in line with the Chinese sense of family obligation and solidarity. In such cases, however, the choice of study should be guided, if not dictated, by the needs and demands of the community having regard, of course, to the individual inclinations and aptitudes of the students concerned. Therefore, private universities, colleges and post secondary institutions which are not directly or indirectly subvented by public funds should be encouraged and be allowed to proceed with the award of academic degrees to ease the demand on subvented tertiary institutions and universities for more places from local students who come from families with modest means. If adopted, this move will increase the number of persons in those important vocations, professions and jobs which are currently under-manned in Hong Kong.

Although we have adopted both English and Chinese as our official language, the time normally allocated to providing a general education in each language and its culture is inadequate to enable a student to acquire proficiency in both languages and their respective cultural backgrounds. It is a poor compromise to cram them within the allocated time for this can result only in excessive home work and the need for private tuition at the expense of the time that students should devote themselves to acquiring the other objectives of a general education such as moulding of their character, fostering of their social and community consciousness, building up of their bodies and cultivating their sense of appreciation of the arts and culture. One possible solution is simply to concentrate on one language thereby relegating the other to a secondary role. In any event, a full examination of this issue is urgently needed.

The Board of Education should be enlarged or a new body created to deal centrally with the full spectrum of educational opportunities in order to replace the present division of responsibility with the Social Welfare Department looking after nursery schools, the Education Department after primary, secondary and post-secondary education, and the two Universities and the Polytechnic being autonomous bodies.

Speaking personally, I feel that an integrated system of education will eventually have to be devised in order to cover comprehensively all educational opportunities for our community, including the very young, those adults who wish to study in their spare time, and additional subsidized places at university level.

With these remarks, Sir, I support the motion.

Motion made. That the debate on this motion be adjourned―THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION.

1180 HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 6 July 1978 Adjournment and next sitting

HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT:―In accordance with Standing Orders I adjourn the Council until 2.30pm on Wednesday the 19 of July.

Adjourned accordingly at fifteen minutes past four o’clock.