Popularly Elected Union Councilor IV 普選評議員四 So Cheuk Yiu 蘇卓堯

The issue of insufficient places for local students to enter statutory university has been exist

for a decade. Recently, there are voices on the society suggests to decrease the number of

quota for international students as to offer more opportunity for local students to study in

universities in Hong Kong.



Introducing international students into campus could lead to variant level of advantages and

disadvantages.



According to the report "Report of the Strategic Dialogues on Internationalization and

Engagement with Mainland China", admitting non-local students could bring several benefits.

For instance, non-local students can expose different cultures to local students and help build

up the relationship with overseas communities. Overseas students could also help HKU to

establish good reputation in the world. Moreover, introducing high quality students could

enrich the learning environment.



On the other hand, the disadvantage is quite obvious; the quota for local students decreased

and will lead to lessen the opportunity for them to study in HKU. As mentioned in the report

"Aspirations for the Higher Education System in Hong Kong" prepared by the University

Grants Committee, only about 18% of the 17-20 age group can enter UGC-funded institutions

which include 7 statutory universities in Hong Kong1. This clearly shows that there are

insufficient places for local students to study in universities.



In order to maintain the balance between opportunity for local students to study in HKU and

provide students more chance to expose to different culture, I recommend the university to

consider the following suggestions.

1. The maximum percentage of quota for international students remain unchanged at

20% as defined in the policy which implemented by the HKSAR government.2

2. The ratio of non-local quotas for students from different countries or areas should be

equivalent.

3. Remaining quotas that for non-local students from different countries should transfer

to the category for local students especially for non-JUPAS local students.

This could allow the university to keep its internationality and provide more chances for local

students to enjoy quality undergraduate life in HKU.



The University of Hong Kong should also review its own non-local students admission

policy on the ratio of students from overseas and Mainland China. As mentioned in the report

from University Grants Committee, "Currently, the majority of our non-local students are from

the Mainland."1, this implies that students from Mainland China should be classified into the

category of non-local student. The report also stated that "Internationalisation is not the same

thing as developing relationships with Mainland China and encouraging Mainland students to

study in Hong Kong."1 and "internationalisation requires a much greater diversity of non-
local students"1, which indicated that the ratio of non-local students from different parts of

the world should be similar in term of internationalization.



To conclude, the percentage of maximum quota for international students should remains

unchanged while the university should limit the number of students from different countries

and the ratio for each region should be equivalent. Meanwhile, vacant places for non-local

students should convert to places for local students. This could help the university to

maintain its image as an international institution and at the same time still provide rational

chances for local students.



Reference:

1. University Grants Committee. Accessed on 12th of December, 2012. Aspirations for the

Higher Education System in Hong Kong. Page 29. Retrieved from

http://www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/doc/ugc/publication/report/her2010/her2010-rpt.pdf

2. Legislative Council. (2012). LCQ18: Non-local students enrolled in UGC-funded institutions.

[Press release]. Retrieved from

http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201212/05/P201212050310.htm