The University Grants Committee (UGC) announced today (10 August, Monday) that the UGC-funded institutions would soon launch a recruitment exercise to admit some 150 outstanding Mainland students to pursue undergraduate programmes in Hong Kong starting from the 1999/2000 academic year.

The Chairman of the UGC, Dr Edgar Cheng Wai-kin said: "To enhance our competitiveness and global outlook, our institutions of higher education should attract more talented students and distinguished scholars from outside Hong Kong."

"To this end, the UGC recommended that the number of non-local students at the undergraduate and taught postgraduate levels at the UGC-funded institutions should be doubled from the present 2% to 4%, and that the ratio of non-local research postgraduates should be increased substantially from the present 20% to one-third," Dr Cheng said.

"We are pleased that the Government has accepted this recommendation which was promulgated in the Chief Executive's 1997 Policy Address," he noted.

"As part of our efforts to implement the new policy, we have secured agreement from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust to provide financial support from funds earmarked for Government-nominated community projects to launch a pilot scheme."

Under the scheme, the UGC will offer scholarships to 150 outstanding Mainland students a year or 450 students over three years. The scholars will undergo undergraduate programmes in the UGC-funded institutions starting from the 1999/2000 academic year.

"In view of the much higher tuition and living expenses in Hong Kong, we recognise the need to support Mainland students studying in our institutions. The scholarship will cover their tuition fees, academic expenses and living costs during a three-year undergraduate programme," Dr Cheng explained.

"150 Mainland students represent about 1% of our first-year undergraduate student population. The proposal is intended to be a pilot scheme. We will review, in consultation with the Government, whether and how the scheme could be further expanded in due course."

The admission exercise would start in the 1998/99 academic year. The eight UGC-funded institutions have reached agreement with the following ten universities in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong and Jiangsu which are authorised to award doctoral degrees to recruit students on their behalf -

• Beijing University
• Tsinghua University
• Fudan University
• Shanghai Jiao Tong Unive
• South China University of Technology
• South China Normal University
• Zhongshan University
• Nanjing University
• Tongji University
• Southeast University

"Students will be selected through a fair, open and merit-based system. The initial screening will be based on the students' achievements in the Mainland's Joint Entrance Examinations (JEE). Our institutions and their Mainland counterparts will agree on the JEE scores or rankings required of the potential candidates. Our institutions will then vet their JEE results and conduct interviews or other selection procedures, where appropriate," Dr Cheng said.

As the normative length of the undergraduate study in the Mainland is different from that in Hong Kong, successful candidates will undergo a one-year training programme in relevant subjects such as English language. This will ensure that the students will be well-prepared for their study in Hong Kong.

The students will be required to take an English examination during the training period. Subject to the satisfactory completion of the one-year training programme and passing the English examination, the selected students will be admitted to the UGC-funded institutions to start pursuing their undergraduate study in Hong Kong as first-year student in the following academic year.

"The first batch of outstanding Mainland students will study as a first-year student of a UGC-funded institution in the 1999/2000 academic year. These students may pursue their postgraduate studies in Hong Kong upon completion of their undergraduate studies, if so approved by the relevant local institution," Dr Cheng said.

"The UGC-funded institutions will bear the costs of the one-year training programme," he explained.

Monday, August 10, 1998