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Following is a question by the Hon Joseph Lee Kok-long and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (April 22):
Question:
Regarding the tertiary institutions funded by University Grants Committee, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(a) it knows the list of academic titles of teachers used by each tertiary institution;
(b) last year, it had considered drawing up a standard list of academic titles for all institutions to follow, so as to avoid confusing and misleading the public; if it had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) it has monitored various institutions in formulating criteria to determine the academic titles of their teachers, so as to ensure that the academic standards of teachers are commensurate with their titles; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) According to information provided by the University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded institutions, the existing classification of ranks and titles of academic and teaching staff in the institutions is set out at Annex.
(b) and (c) The Administration has not considered drawing up a list of academic titles for all institutions to follow or monitored various institutions' practice in formulating criteria to determine the academic titles. The eight UGC-funded institutions are autonomous statutory bodies governed by their respective ordinances. The institutions have autonomy in managing their internal affairs, including human resources policies, and establishment of ranks and titles for their staff.
Ends/Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Issued at HKT 12:01
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