Representative of Independent Clubs Association I 學社聯會代表一 Ho Wing Sze 何穎思

“Education is not consumption. It is an investment in the future and the return will benefit

society and the economy.”, mentioned by Ip Kin-yuen, an education sector lawmaker. Given

that the admission of non-local students brings benefits to the development of local students

and HKU, it is deemed that the maximum intake of non-local applicants to HKU should not be

reduced.



Local students have been often criticized for their passive learning attitude. The admission of

non-local students can act as an encouragement for local students to learn spontaneously.

Furthermore, local students can be nurtured as global citizens and increase their own

competitiveness with enhanced communication skills and broaden global horizon through

cultural exchange with non-local students.



In order to foster internationalization through an open academic environment and aspirations

to excellence, there is a need for HKU to enroll the most outstanding students locally and

from the worldwide, which serves as a human capital flow and better linkage with China and

oversea communities.



During 2013-2014, there are a total number of 3,444 students admitted to HKU, of which

around 84% are local students, including both apply through JUPAS and non-JUPAS. The

remaining students are non-local students who come from Mainland and overseas non-JUPAS

with a student visa. This proportion is acceptable for HKU to be sustainable in being Asia’s

leading international university. However, further investigating into the proportion of

Mainland and overseas non-JUPAS students, it is suggested the University should maintain a

balance between admission of Mainland and overseas non-JUPAS students, in which 50% of

Undergraduate students should be from Mainland China, and 50% should be from other parts

of the world, so as to maintain its excellent academic performances through diversified intake

of non-local students from different parts of the world.



Some may argue that the maximum intake of non-local applicants to HKU should be reduced

due to insufficient UGC-funded full-time undergraduate places to cater all the local students

who meet the minimum entrance requirements for university admission. However, it is

suggested the government should change UGC-funded full-time undergraduate programme

into self-funded for non-local students but at the same time keep the current intake of non-
local applicants for subsidizing the self-funded undergraduate programme for local students,

in order to give more local qualified needy students a hand on the path to higher education.

Furthermore, it is suggested that HKU should put the intake of local applicants to HKU at the

first priority. In such a case, more scholarships can be provided to the non-local applicants to

maintain the attractiveness of HKU. Furthermore, financial support should not be the only

attraction of Hong Kong university places, academic atmosphere is also a prominent factor.

To conclude, sufficient cohorts of high-end professionals is important to support the city’s

transformation into a knowledge-based economy, with the fringe of benefits brought by non-

local students to HKU, the maximum intake of non-local applicants to HKU should not be

reduced in order to maintain the visibility and reputation of HKU. At the same time, it is

deemed that a balance intake of Mainland and overseas non-JUPAS is needed and local

applicants should be prioritized in order to maintain the diversity of HKU.