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Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, at Going Global 2011 Hong Kong: The International Education Conference at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre this morning (March 11):
Distinguished guests, friends, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning. I am delighted to join you all this morning. A very warm welcome to Hong Kong to all our visitors.
Hong Kong is honoured to host Going Global 2011. This is the first time that the conference has travelled outside Britain.
In the words of Saint Augustine: "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page".
The British Council knows very well the benefits of reaching out to different corners of the world, including here in Hong Kong.
So, it is appropriate that this conference poses the question: "World education: the new powerhouse?"
We all know the maxim "knowledge is power". But did you know this phrase was coined by the English statesman Sir Francis Bacon around 400 years ago? At the time, Sir Francis was promoting educational reforms in England.
His underlying belief was that, to stimulate learning, you must open your eyes and minds to the world around you. Sound familiar?
Today we have radio, television and, more recently, the Internet to help open our eyes and minds to the wider world.
Our children study in different countries to broaden their horizons. And cities such as Hong Kong welcome students from around the globe in their schools and universities.
As we strive for a knowledge-based economy, the ability to create, acquire and apply knowledge is critical. It is the key to the success of individuals, organisations and entire economies.
So it is no surprise that governments place a high priority on education. In our next financial year, starting on April 1, we expect to spend HK$54 billion on education. This accounts for almost a quarter (22.5%) of our total recurrent expenditure. It is the largest spending for any policy area.
Our overall aim is to nurture people with a broad knowledge base. We must equip our students with an aptitude for life-long learning and provide the necessary resources to achieve this. And we must prepare everyone, the young and the young at heart, to venture into new frontiers.
This morning, I would like to share with you some of the things Hong Kong is doing to raise the quality of education and broaden the horizons of students. We also see education as an effective means to accelerate upward social mobility and a new engine for economic growth.
Cross-border mobility of both faculties and students has increased by leaps and bounds. It has been estimated that the number of international students globally will rise to 7.6 million by 2025, with some 70% of them headed for Asia.
Naturally, there is a great deal of competition among cities to attract the right students by providing the best possible learning environment. Each city has its own attributes, while students have their own aspirations and expectations.
The trick is to enhance a city's advantages to match the ever-higher expectations of its people, including young people and students.
For Hong Kong, that means treading a familiar path as a premier gateway into and out of Mainland China. A good education must open doors to the huge opportunities presented by our nation's rapid development. It must also provide a stepping stone for Mainland and local students to experience the wider world.
Against this background, Hong Kong aspires to become a regional education hub. Promoting educational services is a priority objective of my Government.
One of the factors that distinguishes Hong Kong from other cities is our high degree of internationalisation. Hong Kong's unique history has provided a vibrant cultural diversity of "East meets West".
In the recently published Globalisation Index 2010, Hong Kong ranked as the world's most globalised city. The strong international character of Hong Kong is underpinned by an English-speaking environment, multi-cultural community and world-class universities.
As well as providing financial resources, the Government also has the will and determination to enhance the educational environment.
In recent years, we have doubled the non-local student quota to 20%. We have established government scholarships and fellowships. We have relaxed employment and immigration restrictions on non-local students, and we are promoting more student exchange activities.
We are also expanding and diversifying our international school sector.
If he were alive today, no doubt Sir Francis Bacon would be encouraged to know that one of Britain's top public schools is coming to Hong Kong. Harrow International School Hong Kong is scheduled to open its doors here in August next year.
It will be the first international boarding school in Hong Kong. Harrow HK will further strengthen our international schools sector which currently includes more than 50 schools. These schools offer curricula from around the world in a multi-cultural setting.
Apart from "mainstream" education offered by our institutions, we have numerous vocational education and continuing education programmes.
We are also promoting healthy development of our self-financing post-secondary sector. Initiatives on this front include providing land, loans and various grants to encourage self-financing higher education development.
May I encourage heads of institutions among you to consider how this could fit in with your own development plans in this part of the world.
Now, a brief update on our recent education reforms. Since September 2009, we have implemented a new academic structure. This marks a significant change in our education system.
In a nutshell, we provide 12 years of free education. This includes six years of secondary education, followed by a four-year undergraduate programme. In other words, students receive an additional year at undergraduate level.
To streamline the exam process, the current two public examinations will be replaced by a single exam after Year 12. This will come into effect next year.
The new exam will be the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education, or HKDSE.
More important, our new curriculum and the HKDSE are internationally benchmarked and recognised.
The HKDSE has been included in the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS) Tariff system. This will provide a useful reference for students seeking a university place in Britain.
Our reforms have received an encouraging response from academic communities in Britain, the USA, Canada, Australia, as well as Mainland China. They will help to better prepare our students for university education at home and abroad.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have outlined some of the ways in which Hong Kong is making the most of its advantages as an international city in Asia and gateway to China.
The Government will continue to make education its single biggest spending priority. We will continue to introduce initiatives tailored to the demands and aspirations of the international student community. And Hong Kong will remain a firm friend and partner of cities around the globe. All this will help to promote world education as the new intellectual and economic powerhouse.
Finally, I would like to thank the British Council for organising this conference. Since 1948, the Council has been broadening the minds of students and the wider community in Hong Kong.
I wish you a successful conference and our visitors a memorable stay in Hong Kong.
Thank you.
Ends/Friday, March 11, 2011
Issued at HKT 11:05
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