Educators back college split plan
A plan to split all community colleges off from their parent universities has been welcomed by leaders of HKU Space, the University of Hong Kong's continuing education arm.
Higher education unions also favour the move proposed by the University Grants Committee in its higher education review published last week, which provides a road map for future development.
About 80 per cent of self-financing tertiary programmes are provided by continuing education arms of publicly-funded institutions in Hong Kong - a situation that is highly unusual in other parts of the world.
The UGC is urging the government to slice off the community colleges from their 'parent' universities, allowing them three years to complete the move, to enable the two sides to agree on how to divide the colleges' substantial reserves.
Its report, released last week, notes that it is 'difficult to establish with clarity' how fully cross-charging arrangements in universities cover any cross-subsidies due to use of common facilities or back office staff.
Lee Chak-fan, president of HKU Space, said: 'These policies will enhance institutions' transparency as well as public awareness of self-financing degree and sub-degree programmes.'
Shum Kar-ping, chairman of the Federation of Higher Education Staff Associations, and To Yiu-ming, convenor of the Baptist University Faculty and Staff Association, both backed the move.
'I think it is a long overdue measure,' To said. 'It is common for university staff to have to deal with non-UGC funded programmes on top of their UGC-funded work. It means they are overworked and can't concentrate on core responsibilities.'
Gerard Postiglione, head of the division of policy, administration and social sciences at the University of Hong Kong, said community colleges were ready to go it alone but their fees, which were already higher than those for degrees were a problem.
The Federation for Continuing Education in Tertiary Institutions and other community college heads declined to comment until they met the grants committee next week.
