Why Hong Kong needs more funded university places and liberal studies should not be a gatekeeper
The limited places at the eight publicly-funded universities has led to breakneck competition and widespread frustration among aspiring students. To give our talented students a better chance of getting into our top universities, especially the most sought-after programmes in medicine, law, business and finance, it is high time our government increases funding for undergraduate places in publicly funded universities.
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I agree there should be more flexible rules for admission. As Mr Wong and Mr Lau point out, three of the four core subjects – English, Chinese and liberal studies – privilege language skills. Actually few, if any of the most popular programmes, require liberal studies as core preparation. All of the top publicly funded universities teach general education or provide a “common core” programme for first-year students. University faculties teach liberal studies with much greater depth and precision. There is no need to make this a core subject for university admission.
Students should be required to take only three core subjects – Chinese, English and mathematics – and three other electives to suit their interests and university requirements for different disciplines.
Regina Ip, member, Legislative Council