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The Heads of Universities Committee (HUCOM) today (March 1) issued a statement in response to the resolution passed by the Legislative Council's Panel on Education regarding the new pay and reward structure of the Hong Kong Baptist University.
Professor Arthur KC Li, Secretary for Education and Manpower shares HUCOM's concern. "To uphold the spirit of institutional autonomy, it is inappropriate for the Legislative Council to interfere with the management of individual institutions," he said.
All University Grants Committee-funded institutions are autonomous statutory bodies governed by their respective ordinances and councils. They enjoy a high degree of autonomy and take full responsibility in managing their internal affairs, including how the remuneration systems should be designed to suit their needs. The above resolution is about issues within institutions' own autonomy, these should best be left to the institutions to handle.
The Administration is confident that the Hong Kong Baptist University and other UGC-funded institutions would maintain a close dialogue with their staff on matters pertaining to the governance of the institutions.
Ends/Wednesday, March 1, 2006
Issued at HKT 19:02
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