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Critics: Stop cutting university funding

By Alice Tong

Cuts in university funding will continue this year and for the next three years. This has drawn
heavy criticism from academics and politicians.
Funding cuts are expected to reach $1.9 billion from 2001 to 2004.
Legislative Councilor Ng Ngoi Yee said that it is contradictory to cut university funding when the government wants to develop and expand higher education in Hong Kong.
Ms. Ng said that the reduction in university funding will lead to a drop in the quality of education, which can already be seen in the increasing sizes of tutorial classes.
Tutorials are characterized by their small size, 10 to 15 students. Students in tutorials have more interaction with instructors, allowing them to raise questions and have more detailed discussions.
However, tutorials now are bigger, meaning that less manpower and resources are needed.
Said Ms. Ng: “For example, some tutorial classes in the Faculty of Law at The University of Hong Kong now carry more than 20 students.
“It is much larger than the optimum number (of 10 to 15 students). It is no longer possible for students to finish their discussions in lessons.”
Streamlining the adminstrative structure of universities is another way to cut expenses. The University of Hong Kong therefore adopted a voluntary resignation scheme.
Mr. Stephen Chan is head of the Non-Academic Staff Association at The University of Hong Kong.
He said the morale of teaching and non-teaching staff has been lowered.
In addition, the workload of existing staff has increased because there has been no recruitment after the resignation of some staff.
“Existing staff, including the teaching staff, often work overtime,” he said.
Teaching quality deteriorates with increased workloads.
Mr. Chan said staff do not have time for further training and they suffer from greater pressures.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University have also adopted the voluntary resignation scheme.
Mr. Chan said that undertaking research is a good way to get extra funding, but it leads to an over-emphasis of research over teaching.
“It is understandable that university departments put more emphasis on research for getting more money. But, as a result, they put less effort on teaching,” he said.
Members of the Association arranged meetings with the university vice-chancellor and Mrs. Fanny Law Fan Chiu Fun, secretary of the Education and Manpower Bureau, and they have attended panel discussions in the Legislative Council in order to reflect their opposition to funding cuts.
Ms. Ng said the government can cut resources from inefficient departments, but the saved portions have to be redistributed to other large departments or universities with good performance.
Legislative Councilor Emily Lau Wai Hing agrees with that policy because a large part of university costs pays staff salaries.
Said Ms. Lau: “Universities must have a well structured assessment system to evaluate staff performance.”

Kayu Wong

Ms. Ng Ngoi Yee says cuts in university funding eventually will lower teaching quality. Ms. Ng Ngoi Yee says cuts in university funding eventually will lower teaching quality.

Ms. Lau said Legco has a passive role in the grant funding process.
Said she: “Legislative councilors can either accept or reject a grant proposal, but they cannot propose another one.
“If we reject a proposal, the universities may get stuck in more critical financial turmoil,” she said.
“We invited the vice-chancellors to explain their difficulties before we passed the (last) proposal, but they all declined. There was nothing we could do.”
Prof. Arthur Li Kwok Cheung, vice-chancellor of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, said universities can channel their opinions to the University Grants Committee. He said it is not necessary to explain everything to the Legislative Council.
People have also begun to criticize the role and operation of the University Grants Committee.
Said Ms. Ng: “The Committee is supposedly an independent committee which is responsible for checking the universities’ effectiveness and preventing the government from directly intervening with the universities.”
She said the Committee is more like a government puppet than an organization maintaining university independence.
Prof. Li said that the Committee is independent enough, however.
“It is doing a satisfactory job acting as a bridge between the government and the universities,” he said.
University commercialization could be a possible outcome of funding cuts. More resources may be allocated to faculties that train students who are in greater demand, such as information technology experts and business executives.
Ms. Ng said, “Universities have to nurture different types of professionals to satisfy the needs of an ever-changing society.”
She said allocating more resources to the “popular” faculties would be a shortsighted practice.

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Cuts in university funding will continue this year and for the next three years. This has drawn heavy criticism from academics and politicians. Funding cuts are expected to reach $1.9 billion from 2001 to 2004. Legislative Councilor Ng Ngoi Yee said that it is contradictory to cut university funding when the government wants to develop and expand higher education in Hong Kong. Ms. Ng said that the reduction in university funding will lead to a drop in the quality of education, which can already be seen in the increasing sizes of tutorial classes. Tutorials are characterized by their small size, 10 to 15 students. Students in tutorials have more interaction with instructors, allowing them to raise questions and have more detailed discussions. However, tutorials now are bigger, meaning that less manpower and resources are needed. Said Ms. Ng: “For example, some tutorial classes in the Faculty of Law at The University of Hong Kong now carry more than 20 students. “It is much larger than the optimum number (of 10 to 15 students). It is no longer possible for students to finish their discussions in lessons.” Streamlining the adminstrative structure of universities is another way to cut expenses. The University of Hong Kong therefore adopted a voluntary resignation scheme. Mr. Stephen Chan is head of the Non-Academic Staff Association at The University of Hong Kong. He said the morale of teaching and non-teaching staff has been lowered. In addition, the workload of existing staff has increased because there has been no recruitment after the resignation of some staff. “Existing staff, including the teaching staff, often work overtime,” he said. Teaching quality deteriorates with increased workloads. Mr. Chan said staff do not have time for further training and they suffer from greater pressures. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University have also adopted the voluntary resignation scheme. Mr. Chan said that undertaking research is a good way to get extra funding, but it leads to an over-emphasis of research over teaching. “It is understandable that university departments put more emphasis on research for getting more money. But, as a result, they put less effort on teaching,” he said. Members of the Association arranged meetings with the university vice-chancellor and Mrs. Fanny Law Fan Chiu Fun, secretary of the Education and Manpower Bureau, and they have attended panel discussions in the Legislative Council in order to reflect their opposition to funding cuts. Ms. Ng said the government can cut resources from inefficient departments, but the saved portions have to be redistributed to other large departments or universities with good performance. Legislative Councilor Emily Lau Wai Hing agrees with that policy because a large part of university costs pays staff salaries. Said Ms. Lau: “Universities must have a well structured assessment system to evaluate staff performance.”	Kayu Wong

	Ms. Ng Ngoi Yee says cuts in university funding eventually will lower teaching quality. Ms. Ng Ngoi Yee says cuts in university funding eventually will lower teaching quality.
	Ms. Lau said Legco has a passive role in the grant funding process. Said she: “Legislative councilors can either accept or reject a grant proposal, but they cannot propose another one. “If we reject a proposal, the universities may get stuck in more critical financial turmoil,” she said. “We invited the vice-chancellors to explain their difficulties before we passed the (last) proposal, but they all declined. There was nothing we could do.” Prof. Arthur Li Kwok Cheung, vice-chancellor of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, said universities can channel their opinions to the University Grants Committee. He said it is not necessary to explain everything to the Legislative Council. People have also begun to criticize the role and operation of the University Grants Committee. Said Ms. Ng: “The Committee is supposedly an independent committee which is responsible for checking the universities’ effectiveness and preventing the government from directly intervening with the universities.” She said the Committee is more like a government puppet than an organization maintaining university independence. Prof. Li said that the Committee is independent enough, however. “It is doing a satisfactory job acting as a bridge between the government and the universities,” he said. University commercialization could be a possible outcome of funding cuts. More resources may be allocated to faculties that train students who are in greater demand, such as information technology experts and business executives. Ms. Ng said, “Universities have to nurture different types of professionals to satisfy the needs of an ever-changing society.” She said allocating more resources to the “popular” faculties would be a shortsighted practice.