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Following is a question by the Hon Tam Yiu-chung and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Education, Mr Kenneth Chen, in the Legislative Council today (March 18):
Question:
Given that Veterinary Officers play an important role in public health and food safety, but the number of registered veterinary surgeons in Hong Kong is small and the Government has also encountered difficulties in recruiting and retaining Veterinary Officers, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows which local universities currently intend to offer undergraduate degree programmes in veterinary science and the latest progress of the relevant preparatory work; and whether the University Grants Committee has any plan to provide funding for institutions to offer such programmes; if it has such a plan, of the relevant details, such as in which year such programmes will be offered as well as the number of institutions and places to be funded; if it has no plan, the reasons for that?
Reply
President:
Under the normal procedure, the University Grants Committee (UGC) considers proposals from its funded institutions for introducing new publicly-funded programmes in the context of the triennial academic development planning exercise. Each funding cycle starts with the issue of letters to the institutions to convey broad policy guidelines and parameters set by the Government (including the indicative student number targets and specific manpower requirements). Taking such parameters into consideration, institutions will prepare their triennial Academic Development Proposals (ADPs) with detailed justification and information for the UGC¡¦s consideration.
Institutions which intend to introduce new publicly-funded programmes should demonstrate that there is a future demand for the programmes concerned (from students and employers), there is a need to have such programmes in Hong Kong and at that particular institution and that the institution has the capabilities and capacities to deliver the programme at high quality. The UGC will scrutinise the ADPs and consider the overall interest of the Hong Kong community before submitting its funding recommendations. Institutions will be closely engaged in the process.
In the latest academic development planning exercise for the 2009/10 to 2011/12 triennium, the UGC has not received any application from its funded institutions for starting new publicly-funded degree programmes on veterinary sciences, and therefore has no plan to provide funding for such in the triennium.
As regards possible plans by UGC-funded institutions for veterinary sciences, we understand that the City University of Hong Kong has recently initiated informal discussions with the UGC on the university¡¦s latest aspirations for setting up a veterinary medical school, but such discussions are at a very early stage.
As regards self-financing degree programmes, we are aware that the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has started or will start offering, in collaboration with the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) of the University of London, non-credit-based subjects collectively known as ¡§Foundation Studies in Veterinary Nursing¡¨ in November 2008 and March 2009 respectively. We understand that PolyU is now actively working with RVC on plans to launch a self-financed four-year joint Bachelor of Science (Honours) programme in Veterinary Nursing.
Ends/Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Issued at HKT 14:12
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