ENG-1990 — Page 157

EDUCATION

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Since this is to be achieved in part by an increase in the percentage of degree-level places offered at the two polytechnics, from 40 per cent to 65 per cent, some of their existing and planned sub-degree courses will be transferred to technical institutes operated by the Vocational Training Council.

The UPGC noted that the achievement of the expansion targets will require the tertiary sector to grow at 10 per cent overall per annum, which is high both in absolute terms and by comparison with what has been achieved anywhere else in the world. The committee considers that retention and recruitment of academic staff of the right calibre will be the most critical factor in achieving this dramatic growth rate. While accepting that most of these staff will have to come from overseas to meet the short-term needs, the committee also considers it important for Hong Kong to train its own academic staff through the provision of postgraduate research programmes, to meet the longer-term requirements of the tertiary sector. With this in view, the UPGC's expansion strategy provides for a gradual increase of postgraduate research places, from around 900 in 1990-91 to more than 2000 in 1994-5. The committee was therefore pleased to gain government approval in August of its proposals to increase funding for research and to establish a Research Grants Council (RGC).

During the year, the committee continued its work on the implementation of the government's decisions on the revised structure of tertiary education, which required all tertiary institutions to conform with a three-year first degree curriculum based on post- Secondary 7 entry. To facilitate the implementation of the revised structure, a joint admissions scheme for the first-degree curriculum was introduced, in an interim form, in September. The committee is liaising further with the institutions on the final form of the scheme, to be introduced at a later date.

Vocational Training Council

The Vocational Training Council was set up in 1982 and comprises 22 members appointed by the Governor. Four are official members: the Secretary for Economic Services; the Director of Education; the Commissioner for Labour, and the Director of Technical Education and Industrial Training. The council's role is to advise the Governor on mea- sures to ensure a comprehensive system of technical education and industrial training suited to the developing needs of Hong Kong; to set up, develop and operate training schemes for training operatives, craftsmen, technicians and technologists to maintain and improve Hong Kong's industry, commerce and services, and also to establish, operate and maintain technical institutes and training centres.

Under the council are 20 training boards and seven general committees. The training boards cover all major economic sectors: accountancy; advertising, public relations and publishing; automobile; banking; building and civil engineering; clothing; electrical; electronics; hotel, catering and tourism; insurance; jewellery; journalism; machine shop and metal working; merchant navy; plastics; printing; shipbuilding, ship repair and off- shore engineering; textile; transport and physical distribution, and wholesale/retail and import/export trades. The seven general committees, which are concerned with areas of training relevant to more than one sector of the economy, deal with apprenticeship and trade testing; electronic data processing training; management and supervisory training; precision tooling training; technical education; training of technologists, and translation.