Vice-Chancellor's Report 1985-87

lowed b y four year s o f universit y education ; withi n th e syste m schoo l leaver s would nee d t o tak e onl y on e examinatio n upo n graduation , afte r whic h the y would eithe r see k employmen t o r pursu e furthe r studies . Durin g th e earl y fifties, the Schoo l Leavin g Certificat e Examination s wer e instituted , an d Anglo - Chinese school s change d t o fiv e year s plu s a Sixth For m o f tw o years , whil e th e University o f Hon g Kon g change d t o thre e years , thu s usherin g i n a more complicated 'five-two-three' system . I n 196 1 th e six-yea r Chines e middl e school s also change d t o fiv e year s plu s a Sixt h For m o f on e year ; soo n thereafte r thre e four-year Postsecondar y College s combine d t o for m Th e Chines e Universit y o f Hong Kong , an d a 'five-one-four ' syste m emerged. Durin g th e sixtie s an d seventies when primar y an d secondar y educatio n furthe r expanded , th e Secondar y School Entranc e Examinatio n (SSEE ) an d th e Junio r Secondar y Educatio n Assessment (JSEA ) tes t alon g wit h correspondin g arrangement s fo r centrall y allocating secondar y schoo l place s wer e instituted . Thu s th e hithert o relativel y simple educatio n syste m wa s ste p b y ste p transforme d int o a rathe r mor e complicated pathway, w i t h a numbe r o f barrier s an d sidetrack s throw n acros s it . There ar e variou s reason s wh y suc h a complicate d syste m cam e int o being. Fo r instance , th e Secondar y Schoo l Entranc e Examinatio n an d th e Junior Secondar y Educatio n Assessmen t tes t wer e obviousl y expediencie s t o deal w i t h th e shortag e o f secondar y schoo l places , an d bot h le d t o considerabl e problems. Fortunately , a s school place s caugh t u p w i t h demand , th e forme r wa s phased ou t an d th e abolitio n o f th e latte r i s now als o onl y a matter o f time . A s for th e proble m o f Sixt h For m educatio n whic h ha s now becom e th e foca l poin t of a controvers y an d th e subjec t o f man y discussions , it s ver y existenc e an d it s stubborn resistanc e t o s o man y effort s fo r findin g a solutio n ove r suc h a lon g time ca n probabl y b e understoo d onl y i n term s o f a school traditio n originate d in th e Britis h system . Wh i l e a t presen t ther e seem s t o b e way s whic h ma y giv e relief t o th e frustration s generate d b y th e co-existenc e o f th e 'five-one-four ' an d the 'five-two-three ' system s an d als o satisf y severa l intereste d parties , i t woul d nevertheless probabl y tak e considerabl y longe r an d ye t greate r effor t t o arriv e at a true an d lastin g solutio n t o thi s problem , whic h ha s buil t u p ove r s o man y years. Another anomal y i n ou r educationa l syste m i s th e strikin g contras t between the fas t expansio n o f th e Anglo-Chines e school s an d th e stagnatio n an d decline suffere d b y th e Chines e Middl e schools . I n th e fifties , bot h kind s o f schools wer e i n fac t comparabl e i n schoo l an d studen t numbers . However , during the followin g tw o t o thre e decade s nearl y al l th e ne w school s founde d an d most o f th e existin g school s whic h wer e expande d turne d ou t t o b e Anglo - Chinese schools , s o muc h s o tha t toda y Chines e Middl e school s accoun t fo r only abou t one-eight h o f th e tota l schoo l numbe r an d les s tha n one-tent h o f the tota l studen t numbe r i n th e secondar y educatio n system . This anomal y i s n o doub t closel y associate d w i t h th e predominanc e o f the Englis h languag e i n a cosmopolitan cit y lik e Hon g Kong . However , i t probably also doe s hav e muc h t o d o w i t h th e recruitmen t polic y o f th e C i v i l Servic e and th e actua l proces s throug h whic h ne w school s ar e founded . Thi s i s indee d tragic, fo r n o matte r ho w muc h importanc e on e ma y wis h t o attac h t o English , it i s clearly wastefu l o f th e student' s effor t fo r h i m t o us e a barely comprehende d foreign languag e a s the too l o f study ; an d i n an y cas e ther e i s reall y n o conflic t between teachin g i n th e mothe r tongu e an d emphasizin g th e learnin g o f English. Thi s ha s alread y bee n forcefull y pointe d ou t b y th e Visitin g Pane l i n their Repor t ‘ A Perspectiv e o n Educatio n i n Hon g Kong' . Unfortunately , eve n though th e grea t majorit y o f thos e wh o hav e openl y expresse d thei r opinio n 38