LCQ20: The piloting of Applied Learning courses
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     Following is a question by the Hon Chueng Man-kwong and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (October 29):

Question:

     Since the piloting for Applied Learning courses, formerly known as Career-Oriented Curriculum, was introduced in September 2003, four cohorts of piloting have been launched so far.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) whether it knows the respective numbers of students, in each of the piloting cohorts since 2003, who were admitted to matriculation courses, Project Yi Jin or associate degree programmes after they had completed the above piloting courses, as well as the respective percentages of these numbers in the total numbers of students who completed the piloting courses in the corresponding cohorts; and

(b) as the information on the web site of the Education Bureau indicates that successful completion of one piloting course will be recognized as comparable to one subject pass in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination ("HKCEE"), whether the institutions funded by University Grants Committee ("UGC") recognise completion of one relevant piloting course as one HKCEE subject pass in determining whether an admission application has met the requirement on the number of HKCEE subject passes under the Joint University Programmes Admissions System; if it is recognised as such, whether it knows the annual numbers of students who applied for places in local universities with these qualifications since 2003; if it is not recognised as such, of the reasons for that;

(c) whether the Government has discussed with universities the qualification recognition of these piloting courses; if it has, of the outcome of the discussions; if not, the reasons for that, and the paths available for students who have completed these courses to pursue further studies after finishing Form 7; and  

(d) whether there will be changes in the recognition of qualifications obtained by students having completed these piloting courses after the implementation of the new senior secondary academic structure and the curriculum reform; if so, of the details, and whether it knows if UGC-funded institutions will recognise these qualifications for admission of students to their programmes?

Reply :

President,

(a) The piloting of Applied Learning courses has been introduced since 2003, with related information as follows:

Cohort     2003-05   2004-06   2005-07   2006-08

Number of    497      1,275     1,772     3,269
students
completing
the courses

     According to our survey studies, information on students pursuing further studies is set out in Annex I.

(b) During the piloting of Applied Learning, successful completion of one quality-assured piloting course is recognised as comparable to one Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) subject pass (each course counted as one point and up to a maximum of two subjects) for admission to Secondary Six and for entry to the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination, and for further studies in the respective institutions of the course providers (up to a maximum of two subjects).

     During piloting, as the target students of Applied Learning are Secondary 4 and 5 students, recognition is mainly sought on post-secondary articulation pathways, e.g. admission to Secondary 6.  As such, there is no information related to students' admission to universities.  However, as Applied Learning will become elective subjects under the new senior secondary curriculum, with Secondary 5 and 6 as the target students, the Education Bureau is currently discussing with universities, sub-degree providers and employers on the recognition of Applied Learning.  Details will be announced in due course.

(c) At the piloting stage, the target students of Applied Learning courses are senior secondary students (Secondary 4 and 5).  For admission to academic programmes, the Federation for Continuing Education in Tertiary Institutions has recognised student's successful completion of a quality-assured Applied Learning course as comparable to:

     * one HKCEE subject pass (excluding the subject of Chinese Language and English Language), each counted as one point and up to a maximum of two subjects, for entry to Pre-Associate Degree Programmes; and

     * successful completion of two electives under Project Yi Jin (PYJ) (if a student who enrols in PYJ have successfully completed one or two quality-assured piloting course(s) in a related study area, he will only be required to study seven core modules plus one elective (instead of three electives) under PYJ).

     In addition, the Applied Learning qualification is recognised for admission to Secondary 6 and for entry to the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (comparable to one HKCEE subject pass, each counted as one point and up to a maximum of two points).  With the Applied Learning qualification, students can also choose to pursue different pathways for further studies or work.  For example, the Civil Service Bureau also accepts successful completion of a quality-assured piloting course as comparable to a pass in the HKCEE (excluding Chinese Language and English Language) for civil service appointment purpose, subject to the counting of a maximum of two courses.

(d) Applied Learning being elective subjects of the new senior secondary curriculum, the performance of students will be credited to the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education.  The Education Bureau is currently discussing with universities, sub-degree providers and employers on the recognition of Applied Learning.  Details will be announced in due course.

Ends/Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Issued at HKT 15:10

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