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The following is issued on behalf of the University Grants Committee:
The University Grants Committee (UGC) submitted to the Government today (December 1) its report on "Aspirations for the Higher Education System in Hong Kong".
Speaking at the press conference, the Chairman of the UGC, Mrs Laura M Cha, said, "The UGC is very pleased to submit its Review Report to the Government today. With helpful input from a wide range of stakeholders and following extensive consultations, we were able to reflect on a wide range of issues pertinent to the post-secondary education sector. Our aim has been to examine the entire sector with a view to offering recommendations on appropriate strategies for the future development of post secondary education in Hong Kong.
"In recent years, the Government's policy in encouraging private sector provision of post-secondary education while continuing its support for the UGC sector has resulted in a flourishing post-secondary education sector in Hong Kong where more students than before have the opportunity to pursue further education after secondary school. We strongly believe that Hong Kong now needs a more integrated post-secondary education system that can provide clear progression pathways for students. The progression framework should include a robust Credit Transfer and Accumulation System and more publicly funded senior year places. We are pleased that the Chief Executive has already announced in his recent Policy Address the doubling of such places to 4,000 per year," said Mrs Cha.
"The higher education sector should also help Hong Kong retain its uniqueness as an international city, and at the same time maintain a close relationship with the Mainland system. To this end, we need to enhance the international character of faculty, students, and curricula, and to nurture our local students not only to be biliterate and trilingual, but also to be competitive in the globalised world," she added.
Sir Colin Lucas, Convenor of the Higher Education Review Group (HERG), which was set up under the UGC to take forward this review, added, "We believe that the post-secondary education system is in good health. But there are challenges both from a system perspective - coherence of oversight - as well as access - better articulation between the publicly-funded and self-financed parts of the sector at various levels.
"Hong Kong has always been an international city and this is important also to its higher education sector. The sector should develop more graduate and research programmes, combining Asian and Western perspectives, while deepening collaboration with the Mainland, more particularly in the Pearl River Delta region. Apart from providing additional resources for such initiatives, the Government should work with the institutions to provide more hostel places for both local and non-local students as a matter of urgency. We should also seek to broaden local students' horizon by providing more high quality exchange opportunities," said Sir Lucas.
Mrs Cha said, "The report makes a number of recommendations which will facilitate UGC-funded institutions in their pursuit of excellence in teaching and research for the benefit of Hong Kong. We have also reflected on the present structure's fitness of purpose, including the role of the UGC itself, and come up with two major recommendations for the Government to consider. Specifically, there should be an oversight body, similar to the UGC, for the privately-funded sector of higher education. There should also be a unified body overseeing all quality matters of the post secondary school system, whilst the Education Bureau assumes an overall supervisory role for the entire sector."
Mrs Cha added, "We hope that the report will assist the Government and the public in reflecting on the strategies for Hong Kong's post-secondary education system. We also hope that it will stimulate interest and debate on this important issue for the better future of the sector and the whole of Hong Kong."
Background to the Review
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The Report of the Higher Education Review 2002 suggested that the UGC conduct a further review of the sector, and the UGC took this up in 2009. In addition to assessing the implementation of the 2002 Review which focused principally on the UGC sector, this review, with the Government's agreement, was expanded to cover the entire post-secondary education sector.
This review was conducted by Higher Education Review Group (HERG), which comprised local and overseas members of the UGC (the Group's Terms of Reference and Membership are at the UGC website (www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/ugc/about/committee/herg.htm). The UGC discussed various aspects of the report over several meetings before fully adopting the report.
During the review, HERG commissioned expert reports on the development of higher education in other parts of the world. The Group also consulted widely through the invitation of written submissions in May 2009, the organisation of several consultation fora in 2009 and 2010, and individual face-to-face discussions with the key stakeholders in the post-secondary education sector. The views and ideas collected have helped shape the content and recommendations of the UGC's report.
The report is submitted to the Government by the UGC, and is simultaneously released to the public. A copy of the report is accessible at the UGC website (www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/ugc/publication/report/report.htm), and the list of the report's recommendations is attached at the annex.
Ends/Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:37
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