Do you support the idea of boycotting classes by university students to protest against the anticipated budget cuts? Yes or no, we understand the difficulties because, at the moment, we simply lack the information to make an informed decision.
Every sector has the obligation to help Hong Kong out of the financial deficit and education is in no way an exception. Look at it under a microscope: pre-school education needs funding; special education wants money; primary and secondary schools ask for resources. When the cake is getting smaller, everyone gets a smaller bite. Cuts in university funding seem inevitable.
However, does a reduction in university resources mean less impact on other sub-sectors? How much is the government willing to bear in the development of a healthy education system? What is the overall direction of our education policy? How are different sub-sectors going to share the financial burden? The government has provided no figures or plans so far.
It is understandable that people lose their footing without a platform for rational discussion.
City University president Chang Hsin-kang said his school has already made a budget reduction of 10 per cent in the past six years. From our point of view, it is reasonable to ask the administration for an explanation if further substantial cuts are needed.
I had some casual chats with students, both from secondary and tertiary institutes. I can see the budget controversy is boiling over among them, especially after they learned of the huge cost of one-off events, such as the Harbour Fest. They said even if those programmes helped boost the economy, the effects were short-term.