Bulletin Winter 1977

Designate have also playe4 a part in promoting cultural interflow and international understanding. Finally, I would like to add that cross-fertili- zation in culture w ill go a long way in enriching the native culture, which would wither under any closed-door policy. The most fascinating aspect o f Chinese culture is its capacity for new elements and what we should do now is to assimilate other cultures. Q. Professor Ma, I think we may say you are in fact a local o f Hong Kong, w ith a clear idea o f the demands o f society on higher education. Do you think the Chinese University has been successful in meeting the needs o f the local community? A. Having lived in Hong Kong for scores o f years, I may very well consider myself a local of Hong Kong. Since the late 50 ， s, the demand for post- secondary education here has been ever-increas ing: on the one hand, the number o f secondary school graduates has been rising rapidly every year; on the other, the rapid expansion in local commerce and industry has called for an in­ creased supply o f better qualified and pro fessionally-trained talents. It was under these circumstances that The Chinese University of Hong Kong came into being. The Chinese University has always taken into consideration the development o f the local society, w ith new demands at every turn, in formulating its own development plans. A look at some o f our recent plans w ill show you how we have charted our development to meet the needs o f society. We established the Faculty o f Business Administration in 1974 to train more leaders for the commercial and industrial world; and a 3-year M.B.A. programme has just been initiated to enable serving managers to further their studies. A new medical school is being planned and its first batch o f graduates w ill join the medical profession in nine years' time. The School o f Education has expanded to accom­ modate more serving graduate teachers, by offering a 2-year day course leading to the Diploma-in-Education. Other new professional training offered at the graduate level includes social work and communication studies. Another obvious example is the 5-year work- study programme in Electronics: graduates o f this department have already made great con­ tributions to one o f the most important local industries. Q. Let us turn now to the education system in Hong Kong. I believe you are concerned w ith this not only because you w ill be the head o f a university but also because you are a parent. I understand that your three children are attend­ ing schools in Hong Kong. A. Critics o f the Hong Kong education system are many, most o f whom find it extremely examina tion-oriented, conducive to learning-by-rote, and lacking in moral, physical, social and aesthetic education. Most o f the students trained under this system are inadequate in powers of thinking, judgment and problem-solving, as well as in the command o f both the Chinese and English languages. On the whole, I agree with these criticisms and am very anxious over this state o f affairs, both as an educator and as a parent. Many educators have expressed their views on how to improve the present system, to which I would like to add my own. As long as the standards o f Hong Kong's schools continue to be unequal as a result o f different levels of teaching strength and facilities, the demand for places in the "good" schools w ill continue to be great. Admission into schools, especially the limited number o f "good" schools, has in evitably to depend on examination results, and 3