Annual Report 2002–03

"For themanytasksthatawaittobedone, let us tackle them one by one decisively, Overcoming whatever hurdle that may come our way, as has been the case in the past. Wind or rain, let us forge ahead determined and fearless. United, we shall sail into fair weather on our way forward." VC's open letter to staff andstudents dated 26th March 2003 中大於四十校慶之年，碰上了 SARS 的來襲，碰上了香港社會的重大危 機，全校上下決心要發揮知識的力 量，以專長和學識回饋社會，全方位 凸顯公營大學的角色和責任。校方又 於四月成立「資訊統籌小組」，以網 頁形式全面報導中大抗炎的各項活動 和貢獻；網頁的主題是「抗炎總動 員：齊關心、齊盡力」，當中記載了 中大歷史極重要的一頁。 大學削資 最後，不能不提的，是未來數年的財政緊絀問 題。 明年是二零零一至二零零四年這個三年撥款期的 最後一年，政府資助額早有定案；但展望二零零 四年之後的情況，實在未許樂觀。 S A R S —役令 政府的財赤問題雪上加霜，敎資會最近通知各院 校，政府將大幅削減二零零四至二零零五年度的 資助額，而二零零五至二零零八年三年撥款期的 資助總額，也有可能再往下調，實際減幅正待敎 資會進一步通知。 其實自一九九八年起，大學已透過不斷的管理效 率檢討，節省了約一成的開支；穩妥的財務管 理，更為大學積存了一筆可觀的儲備，以應不時 before has its role as a public university been more pronounced and appreciated. A webpage entitled 'Fighting SARS: We Care, We Serve' was specially created by our SARS Information Coordinating Committee in April 2003 to keep a comprehensive and permanent record of the University's anti-SARS efforts and contributions. This will certainly be a most important page in the University's 40-year history. Budget Cut No account of 2002-3 is complete without mentioning the financial outlook for 2003-4 and beyond. Whereas funding for the coming year is already taken care of by the UGC allocation pledged for 2001-4, prospects after 2004 are far from optimistic. The SARS crisis has dealt the local economy another heavy blow, and a colossal fiscal deficit is anticipated by the government for 2003-4. The University has only very recently been given to understand that UGC subvention for the tertiary education sector may be substantially reduced for the 2004-5 rollover year, there being no guarantee that the cut will not continue into 2005-8. We are still waiting for actual allocation figures from the UGC. Through continuous management efficiency reviews, the University has already reduced its operating expenses by some 10 per cent since 1998. Prudent financial management has also resulted in a healthy reserve that can be used as a buffer at times of stringency. But when faced with the possibility of continuous cuts, shrewd planning has to be made in anticipation of the worst scenarios. On the one hand, we have stepped up our fund-raising efforts to cultivate 12 香港中文大學年報 CUH K A n n u al Report 2002-2003