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LCQ5: Competitive Allocation Mechanism of UGC
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     Following is a question by the Hon Cheung Kwok-che and a reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, in the Legislative Council today (October 30):

Question:

     The University Grants Committee (UGC) implemented the "Competitive Allocation" mechanism for the first time in the 2009-2012 triennium. Under the mechanism, various UGC-funded institutions (institutions) have to reserve a certain percentage of their first-year-first-degree (FYFD) places for reallocation among the institutions by UGC in the light of the outcome of its assessment of the Academic Development Proposals (ADPs) of the institutions. In addition, the Chief Executive undertook in his election platform to review the role, functions and resource allocation criteria of UGC and the Research Grants Committee (RGC), and to provide more subsidised tertiary education opportunities. So far, such pledges have not yet been fulfilled. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) whether it knows the work schedule and details of the academic development planning for the 2015-2018 triennium conducted by UGC and various institutions; when UGC will notify the institutions in writing to submit their ADPs, and the respective percentages of FYFD places the institutions are required to reserve; whether the authorities have reviewed the Competitive Allocation mechanism's effectiveness and impacts on the institutions in the 2009-2012 triennium and the 2012-2015 triennium respectively; if they have, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will conduct such reviews, and the specific timetable for conducting the reviews; whether the authorities have made an assessment with the outcome that the institutions lack the ability to review on their own their teaching capability and development strategies, and they therefore continue to implement the Competitive Allocation mechanism; whether enhancing institutions' international competitiveness is the primary resource allocation criterion adopted by the Government; if so, of the reasons for that; if not, the major criteria;

(b) whether the Government has specifically reviewed last year the functions of UGC and RGC, as well as their respective resource allocation work and criteria; if it has, of the details; if not, whether it will conduct such reviews, and the specific timetable concerned; and

(c) given that quite a number of members of the public have urged the Government to increase the number of publicly-funded FYFD places, whether the Government of the current term has any plan to increase such places, so as to fulfill the election pledge made by the Chief Executive; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

(a) The University Grants Committee (UGC) usually conducts academic planning with its funded institutions on a triennial basis. This includes an assessment of the Academic Development Proposals (ADPs) submitted by the institutions to determine the number of student places and the level of recurrent grants required. To ensure that the precious publicly-funded student places are put to their best use for the benefit of the community, the UGC has introduced a performance-based Competitive Allocation Mechanism (CAM) since the 2009-2012 triennium to re-distribute a small number of first-year first-degree (FYFD) places, thereby driving excellence. For the 2012-2015 triennium, the eight funded institutions together had set aside 724 FYFD places per annum. Together with 90 of the 380 additional FYFD places per annum provided by the Government, these places were put in a central pool for re-distribution by the UGC to its funded institutions based on assessment of ADPs against agreed criteria to reflect their comparative merits. As for the remaining 14 186 FYFD places per annum, which represent 94.6% of a total of 15 000 places, they have not been affected by CAM.

     I would like to stress that the assessment by the UGC of the funded institutions' ADPs and the implementation of the CAM is carried out in a fair, interactive and transparent manner. During the preparatory stage of the academic planning exercise, the UGC will first consult and agree with the institutions on the rules, evaluation criteria, procedure and principles of the exercise. Further than that, the actual assessment will be conducted by a UGC-formed independent dedicated group, comprising outstanding overseas academics and local members not coming from any of the eight UGC-funded institutions, as a means to ensure a fair, professional and independent assessment.

     As far as the outcome of the academic planning for the 2012-2015 triennium is concerned, as compared with the 2011/12 academic year there is an increase in FYFD places for five among the eight institutions, no change for two institutions and a slight decrease of 28 places for just one institution (representing 2.2% of its FYFD places).

     The UGC is thrashing out the details of the academic planning arrangements beyond the 2012-2015 triennium with the Administration. It is expected that the UGC will inform the institutions of the arrangements in early 2014.

(b) Comprising local members from different quarters and renowned non-local academics, the UGC's main function is to provide impartial and expert advice to the Government on the funding and development of higher education in Hong Kong, thereby assuring the standards and cost-effectiveness of the operations and activities of the UGC-funded institutions. The UGC is tasked with various important functions relevant to the higher education sector, such as the assessment of ADPs prepared by the institutions as mentioned above. Furthermore, the Research Grants Council and the Quality Assurance Council under the UGC are respectively responsible for allocating funding for academic research projects undertaken by the institutions and ensuring effectiveness in the quality assurance mechanisms of their programmes at first degree or above level. The fact that these functions are discharged by the independent and professional UGC system helps significantly minimise the Government's direct involvement in higher education matters. In other words, the UGC system plays an important buffer role between the Government and the tertiary institutions, where academic freedom and institutional autonomy are safeguarded while the institutions' accountability to the public is ensured.

     All along, the UGC and the agencies within its purview have been performing their functions effectively, greatly contributing to the higher education sector in Hong Kong. At the same time, in response to changes in society, we also acknowledge the need to review the role of the UGC and its practice standards every now and then to keep abreast of the times.

     From a macro perspective, the higher education sector has undergone a number of significant changes in recent years, including the implementation of the New Academic Structure, the revamp of the undergraduate curriculum, promotion of internationalisation, etc. We need time to study the results of these initiatives. The UGC will also need to take charge of numerous tasks, including implementation of the various recommendations of the 2010 Higher Education Review. The Government will continue to keep this under review as appropriate, with a view to tying in with the development of our society and the higher education sector.

(c) The Government's policy objective is to provide secondary school leavers with quality, diversified and flexible study pathways with multiple entry and exit points through the parallel development of the publicly-funded and the self-financing post-secondary sectors. For the 2012-2015 triennium, we have substantially increased the number of UGC-funded undergraduate places, namely, the number of FYFD places has been increased to 15 000 per annum and the number of senior year intake places has been doubled to 4 000 per annum. This will provide outstanding sub-degree graduates with more opportunities for further study.

     Meanwhile, the Government strives to promote the development of the self-financing post-secondary sector, with emphasis on both quality and quantity, through a basket of support measures. The number of full-time locally-accredited self-financing undergraduate places available this year is about 7 000, while the number of self-financing senior year undergraduate places has been increased to about 7 600 this year, from about 3 000 in the 2010/11 academic year.

     Through the implementation of these measures, our degree-level participation rate is now over 30%, up from 5% in the 1985/86 academic year, 18% in the 1995/96 academic year and 22% in the 2005/06 academic year. Even if we only take those publicly-funded undergraduate places into account, the current participation rate is about 23%. It is estimated that in the coming two years, over one-third of our young people in the relevant age cohort will have access to degree programmes. Taking sub-degree places together, we expect that almost 70% of our young people will have access to post-secondary education. These graduates will contribute to the pool of talent underpinning the future development of Hong Kong. Looking ahead, we anticipate that with a decreasing population in the relevant age cohort, the ratio of young people receiving post-secondary education will continue to rise.

Ends/Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:16

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