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Following is a question by Hon James To and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (March 12):
Question:
Regarding the number of places for first-degree programmes, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of a breakdown, by year of study, of
(i) the number of places for publicly-funded first-degree programmes over the past five years,
(ii) the number of students currently attending non-local first-degree programmes, and
(iii)the number of adult students aged above 23 and currently attending first-degree programmes;
(b) of the year-end population belonging to the age group between 17 and 20 in each of the past five years; whether it has estimated the number and percentage of people in that age group who will be holding first degree or higher academic qualifications in the coming 10 years; and
(c) of the number and percentage of holders of first degree or higher academic qualifications who were in the age group between 17 and 20 at the time and in the subsequent five years when the authorities announced in October 1989 the decision to significantly increase the number of places for first-year first-degree programmes to 18% of the relevant age group by the 1994-1995 academic year (i.e. those people who are now in the age group between 30 and 38); whether it has assessed if these people are less employable than those who are younger but have more opportunities to receive higher education, and whether the Government will increase the number of places for first-degree programmes for adults aged 23 or above?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) (i) The number of University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded undergraduate places (in full-time equivalent term) in each of the five academic years from 2003/04 to 2007/08 is tabulated below:
2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08
First-Year
First-Degree places 14500 14500 14500 14500 14500
Total undergraduate
places 47157 47235 48203 48831 49073
(ii) According to information provided by the relevant course operators, 21145 students took up studies in non-local degree courses in 2006. Breakdown by year of study is not available.
(iii) According to information provided by the UGC-funded institutions, 8203 students who were aged 23 or above took up studies in the UGC-funded undergraduate programmes in the 2007/08 academic year. Breakdown by year of study is not available.
(b) According to information provided by the Census and Statistics Department, the year-end population of the 17 to 20 age cohort in the past five years is as follows:
Year No. of persons
2003 351 900
2004 346 900
2005 352 600
2006 354 200
2007 359 500 (provisional figure)
We have not estimated the number and percentage of people in the above age cohort who will be holding first degree or higher academic qualifications in the coming 10 years. At present, the Government provides 14 500 publicly-funded First-Year-First-Degree (FYFD) places at the UGC-funded institutions. Apart from these publicly-funded FYFD places, students interested in pursuing studies at the undergraduate level may enrol in publicly-funded senior year undergraduate places, self-financing undergraduate and top-up degree programmes, as well as non-local undergraduate programmes. Students may also choose to receive tertiary education abroad.
(c) According to the General Household Survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department in the fourth quarter of 2007, the number of persons in the 30-38 age cohort (excluding inmates of institutions, persons living on board vessels and foreign domestic helpers) with educational attainment at degree or above level stood at 269 000, representing 28.9% of the population in that age cohort.
In general, employment rate is affected by factors such as our demographic changes, the social and economic situation, as well as the manpower demand in different sectors. Accordingly, direct comparison of the employability of persons according to their age groups or educational attainment may not represent the appropriate approach.
The eight UGC-funded institutions are autonomous statutory bodies governed by their own statutes. They enjoy institutional autonomy regarding their internal management, including student admission policies. In general, applications for admission into UGC-funded programmes will be considered by the institutions on the basis of merits. The institutions will examine applications for admission into undergraduate programmes having regard to the academic results and non-academic performances of individual candidates (including those aged 23 or above). Furthermore, as explained in (b) above, students may gain access to tertiary education through the some 2 500 FYFD and 1 600 top-up degree places offered by self-financed post-secondary education institutions, non-local undergraduate programmes offered by the relevant course providers as well as programmes offered by institutions outside Hong Kong.
Ends/Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Issued at HKT 17:38
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