In response to media enquiries concerning a proposal for the heads of tertiary institutions to change the duration of undergraduate programmes to four years, a spokesman for the Education and Manpower Bureau made the following remarks today (Friday):

"In his first Policy Address on October 8, 1997, the Chief Executive announced that the Education Commission (EC) would be asked to begin a thorough review of the structure of pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary education, addressing inter alia, the duration of the various stages, the curriculum and the interface between stages. The review should also consider the issue of a four-year duration for tertiary education.

"EC has already begun the overall review of the academic structure. Given the complexity of the issues involved and the wide implications on the entire education, we expect that EC will consult extensively in the course of the review and take into account views of the education sector, other stakeholders such as the business and professional bodies, parents, students and the general public. We look forward to receiving the recommendations by EC in due course.

"Public spending on education is the Government's largest expenditure item. On a recurrent basis, it takes up over 21 per cent of the total government expenditure. One third of the expenditure is for tertiary education.

"Any change to the present academic structure which may result in substantial increase in public expenditure will have to be considered not just on its own merits but also in the context of its priority relative to other improvements to the quality of education, and having regard to the total amount of resources available to the education programme. We have no doubt that all these will be taken into account by the EC in its overall review."

Ends/Friday, September 18, 1998