(SCMP, June 13, 2003)
A FOUR-YEAR UNIVERSITY system should be fast-tracked in Hong Kong, education chiefs agreed yesterday. The government said funding would be available to speed up its introduction.
Secretary for Education and Manpower Arthur Li Kwok- cheung said the government and heads of the eight universities agreed on a 'three-three-four' model, comprising six years of schooling at junior and senior secondary levels, plus four years at university. They also agreed the four-year system should be introduced sooner than 2013 - the date proposed by the Education Commission. Some universities have said they could adopt the system by 2007.
Professor Li said: 'In terms of educational value, it is a superior system. It is a must for Hong Kong.'
The commission has proposed such a system be implemented only after reforms to the senior secondary curriculum and examinations. It said the government should decide by 2007 the timetable for implementing those reforms.
But Professor Li said that would take too long. At a meeting with university presidents and vice-chancellors yesterday, he suggested they come up with plans for early introduction of the new system.
