At Hong Kong’s vocational institutes, post-secondary students queue for positions as a university alternative

by Jessie Lau and Gloria Chan

SCMP - Hong KongToday, 3:28 PM

At vocational schools around Hong Kong, students who do not meet the minimum requirement to enter local universities lined up today to apply for higher diploma or associate degree programmes after government advisers last week urged the city to place a higher value on such practical training.

At the Institute of Vocational Education’s Haking Wong campus in Cheung Sha Wan, hundreds of students holding their Diploma of Secondary Education results snaked through the building as they waited to register for programmes such as civil engineering and health studies.

Many were accompanied by parents who took a day off work to assist their children. Some began lining up as early as 6.30am to secure a spot in line.

On July 6, the Task Force on Promotion of Vocational Education, which was formed in June last year, submitted a report to the Education Bureau in which it proposed 27 measures to raise the sector’s professional image, including further industry collaboration, promotion of applied learning and extensions to subsidy schemes.

READ MORE: New vocational model urged to rid educational option of its second-class status in Hong Kong

Wong Ka-yan, 18, who was at the Haking Wong campus yesterday, said she hoped to apply for a higher diploma in child care and education. “I like working with kids and I hope to be a kindergarten teacher when I grow up,” she said. “I think vocational programs can help students like me who don’t do as well academically. Taking these courses will make it easier to find jobs.”

In secondary school, Wong went to tutorial classes once a week to help bolster her grades. She currently lives in a public housing flat and meets the requirement for a government subsidised vocational course.

“For people who have high financial burdens, these programmes give them more opportunities,” she said.

Winnie Chan Yuen-man, a mother waiting for her daughter to apply for a vocational programme in physical education, said she supported the government’s initiative to boost Hong Kong’s vocational training opportunities.

“University spots are only available for top students,” Chan said. “If the government can provide more [vocational] programs, students will feel more supported and be less likely to fail in the future.”

Chan said it was important to allow students like her daughter to have a chance to pursue higher education, and there were not enough options currently available.

“I hope the programs can cover more students in the future, and include more subjects,” Chan said.

According to Leung Yam-shing, deputy executive director of Vocational Training Council, the Haking Wong campus will offer some 19,000 spaces this year, which is 500 fewer than last year. 

To be eligible for a bachelor’s degree in the eight local tertiary institutions, students have to attain a minimum score of 3 for Chinese and English and a minimum score of 2 for mathematics, liberal studies, and an elective.

A total of 25,544 students reached the minimum requirements this year. They will compete for the 13,000 universities spots available to secondary graduates. On average, 1.96 students vie for each spot.


http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1839351/hong-kongs-vocational-institutes-post-secondary