Education policy in Hong Kong Essays

Education policy in Hong Kong Essays Education policy in Hong Kong Essay Education policy in Hong Kong Essay How does the public assistance Regime influence the Education Policy in Hong Kong Introduction Hong Kong is a little city state that began under British colonialism as trading centres. And now, Hong Kong becomes the well-known World s prima international fiscal centres, free trade and transportation centres. There are many arguments over the public assistance government of Hong Kong. Different bookmans have different positions on Hong Kong public assistance governments. Tang ( 1993 ) said that there is no bing public assistance government theoretical account is applicable to Hong Kong. Wong ( 2008 ) argued that Hong Kong adopted a particular public assistance attack that is a complex mix of different public assistance theoretical accounts. However, no affair some bookmans have suggested there is no applicable public assistance government or a assorted public assistance government in Hong Kong, base on the bookThe Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalismthat written by the most identifies individual to recent comparative societal policy Gosta Esping-Andersen, we believe that Hong Kon g is closely parallel to the categorization of broad public assistance government in term of a treble typology of societal democratic, conservative and broad public assistance governments. The Characteristics of Liberal Welfare Regimes Liberal Welfare Regime implies a fringy function of province, it merely supply minimal aid and support for the citizens, rigorous demands of using societal public assistance that is authorities set aid at a minimal degree. Merely maintaining a safety cyberspace for those who working category, who need rely on the government’s aid and support. Stigma or labeling is ensuing to the receivers. Besides it emphasis on the function of market and minimizes the degree of de-commodification. ( Esping-Andersen, 1989 ) . In Hong Kong, the authorities adopted a laissez-faire attack and follows the neo-liberalism political orientation, hence means-tested aid that limited to the low-income category people and modest universal transportations are found in the broad public assistance government. The place of Market becomes more of import and is followed the free market-based capitalist economy and apart from the international fiscal centres, the Hong Kong authorities besides wanted to develop their metropolis into an international instruction hub. Since the authorities wants to transform Hong Kong to be an international instruction hub and travel planetary, several instruction policies are introduced and so the whole educational system are changed which lead to different jobs. Commodification andMeterarketizationof Education Due to the neoliberalization under the broad public assistance government, the beginning of instruction has been transformed. There is emerged of commodification and marketization of instruction. Commodification of instruction means that instruction which is something that are non tradable is going a trade good that we can tradable. Therefore, the intrinsic value of instruction has transformed into purpose at doing net income instead than reassign the cognition. For illustration, like school has transformed to a mill, under the mill, pupils have become the raw-materials, and instructors are being the workers while the instruction has become the production procedure. The parents are played as the customers’ function who buys the merchandises cognition or certifications for their kids. Marketization of instruction means that instruction is going a market-like construction and Acts of the Apostless like a market house which accent on efficiency, cost, benefits and effectivity. The spirit and the construct of endeavor to minimise the cost to achieve the maximal profit are applied by schools. Besides, it uses market mechanism to apportion resources in instruction market. The market mechanism agencies by which the forces of demand and supply determine monetary values and measures of goods and services offered for sale in a free market. When it applies to instruction system, school topographic points allotment is allocated by market demand and market supply ( Hudson and Lidstrom, 2002 ) . Hudson and Lidstrom ( 2002 ) besides emphasizes Free pick, competition, denationalization, and answerability in education For competition, it refers to the competitions between schools in the market place. This thought aims at increasing the quality of schools merely like the competition between houses in market can increase quality of commercial goods and services. And they believed that school system will derive from the competition of schools. For free pick, it means the demanders ( pupils ) and provider ( schools ) can exert their pick in the free trade of market. Student can take what service they like and the school would freely take the mark group, freely follow the nature of the service. For answerability, this system describes the assorted mechanisms for measuring academic public presentation by schools and pupils. Under the Accountability systems , academic criterions, step single and systemic advancement towards run intoing those criterions are the two basic elements. For organisational manner, it reflects the thought of school-based direction, merely like a concern house where schools will be responsible for their ain budgets, direction, engaging staff and instructors ( Chan and Mok, 2001 ) . Harmonizing to Simkins ( 2000 ) , Management is supposed to be outcome based through the specification of public presentation standards and the constitution of target-setting and planning processes Accordingly, schools start resembling concerns. Influence on the instruction policy Government ever emphasizes on the autonomy and single attempt. Peoples believe that university is the lone manner for them to travel upward category. However, after the Colonial British Government puting the criterion of degree programme in 1989, that is merely 18 % of all aged 17-20 adolescents can entry into the grade programme ( ) . Until now, the authorities is still staying this proportion. However, the authorities did non increase UGC funded degree seats or implement any instruction policies to assist more students’ entree to the university even though it is evidently deficient topographic points for the increased pupils to acquire into the grade programme. The Hong Kong criterion of degree programme degree is far lower than the universe norm ( 26 % ) . Not merely remain the seats, but besides deficiency of supervising on the universities and private schools and advancing development of private higher instruction establishments, for case, community college and private un iversity. As the unemployment job of the childs was really serious in 2000 ( Ming Pao, 2000 ) , authorities suggested advancing development of private higher instruction establishments and therefore, supply more programme such as associate grade and top-up grade programme, in order to cut down the childs unemployment job. Sub-degreeProgram Sub-degree Programme means peers to or above Level 4 in Qualification model ( ) , such as Associate grade ( AD ) , High sheepskin ( HD ) and other sorts of professional sheepskin. Most of the pupils taking associate grade or high sheepskin programme are wishing that they may acquire a topographic point in the university. In other words, these sub-degree programmes are tools to acquire a UGC-funded grade. Associate grade has 3 characterics of marketization and commodification. The first 1 is organisation manner. Financial and direction are independency to the authorities. The figure of the classs and appliers can put by themselves. The 2nd feature is pick. School can supply different classs with different tuition fee and quota for pupil to take and pupils can freely take their favourite grade classs. The 3rd characteristic is competition. Education institutes use different bundle or publicity schemes to vie for more pupils to analyze at that place to keep the concern, for illustration through advertizement demoing the per centum of alumnuss who can come in universities. Those characteristic of marketization and commodification are aimed at maximize AD net income by over-admission of pupils to fulfill the high demand of acquiring a topographic point in the university. With the big addition in demand of both HKDSE and HKAL pupils, the over-admission of pupils exceeds the student-holding capacity. So that it is deficient installations to fulfill with all the pupils. However, the authorities does non care about the instruction quality of those instruction establishments and does non command or supervise the programme. The province is switching its duty to the market and minimise province intercession. Self-financed planme Self-financed plans include the self-financed grade and exceed up degree programme. Some local universities launch some self-finance grade programme, including self-finance grade and distance-learning programme, to have those who are non accepted by UGC funded degree programme. For those who did non accept by UGC-funded grade programme, they can still go on on with their surveies. Many higher instruction establishments start offering self-financed plans to run into the lifting local demands for the cosmopolitan postgraduate instruction and diversified go oning instruction. For the impact from Self-finance grade programme, it is similar to the Associate grade programme portion the same marketization features ( pick, organisational manner, competition ) . While more and more pupils studied in self- financed programme, the job of credential rising prices is worried as those establishments aims at maximising the net income devising. Therefore, after the over-admission of pupils, there will be a batch of grade holders which makes degree making no longer able to function as standards of separating the quality of alumnuss. Self-finance grade coders besides lack of authorities supervising. The quality may below criterion as a consequence. It becomes even harder for the employers to separate which appliers are good and who are bad as there are excessively many appliers are degree holders. But in the past, employers can engage the appliers by merely sing the grade holder to be smarter than non-degree holder. In add-on, the acknowledgment of the advanced sheepskin is besides a badgering job. LU had launched 25 advanced sheepskin programme which has non yet been approved by the authorities. It can non be found in IPASS. It is questioned in whet her those self-financed programme equal to the UGC-funded grade? Deduction The deficiency of supervising and monitoring besides lead to the high monetary value in both self-financed Programme and sub-degree Programme because of high demands in the market. The instruction establishments may reset the monetary value in different old ages. If there are high demands for a peculiar class, so they may increase their monetary values. It means the monetary value is changed harmonizing to the market. Therefore, the parents may confront the hazard of all establishments increasing their monetary value. To those low and in-between category pupils, they may non afford such a immense monetary value, nevertheless, there are still many people are willing to borrow money and analyze the programme. It is because under the broad public assistance government, authorities will non supply much public assistance to the citizens, hence, they merely can reliance on themselves. They besides thought that university is the lone manner out to acquire rid of poorness. Although the authorities has offered subsidies for analyzing private high educational establishments pupils, it is utilizing agencies trial to mensurate eligible applier, the demands of using the instruction allowance is rigorous and the application procedure is complex and long waiting. Therefore, merely really few proportions of pupils may profit from the public assistance. Besides, pupils may besides hold stigma or labeling when the pupils successfully use the subsidy. Furthermore, even pupils apply the low-interest loan, the classs do non vouch that you can acquire into the university or that classs may non accepted by the employers so that they could non happen a occupation, and therefore the argument is become their load. Decision Others instruction policy such as Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme which is about supplying direct fee subsidy to parents in signifier of verifiers besides can reflect the features of commodification and marketization. The function of public assistance supplier is no longer the authorities but the market because authorities is switching the duty to the market. However, the feature of market is maximising the net income, so it implies the job of services quality. On the other manus, authorities ever promote the universities in Hong Kong more collaborate with international establishment so that to better the instruction place of Hong Kong. For illustration, the City University of Hong Kong collaborates with Swinburne University of Technology, De Montfort University, Edinburgh Napier University and Oxford Brookes University which provide high instruction class. There are around 1 200 non-local classs operated by non-local establishments or in coaction with our local establishments, taking to the award of non-local higher academic making or professional making ( Education Commission Working Group, 2011 ) . From the above instruction policy, we can see that the authorities is following the broad public assistance government and the authorities is stress more on the international placement than the proviso of public assistance. Tacticss of unfastened more private non-regulate high instruction establishment to cut down the unemployment of adolescents can non work out the job. With the phenomenon of increasing degree holders, there may hold more jobs to our society, such as the job of credential rising prices. Tang, Kwong Leung. ( 1993 ) .Comparative Theories of Social Policy Development: A Historical-Quantitative Study of Hong Kong., University of California Linda Wong. ( 2008 ) . Hong Kong s Welfare Model Reconsidered What Model? What Traits? And What Functions? , City University of Hong Kong, Retrieved from ( 25/11/2014 ) : hypertext transfer protocol: //www.welfareasia.org/5thconference/papers/Wong L_Hong Kong Welfare Model.pdf Esping, A. ( 1989 ) .The Three Political Economies Of The Welfare State. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 26 ( 2 ) , 9-54. Retrieved November 10, 2013, fromhypertext transfer protocol: //rszarf.ips.uw.edu.pl/welfare-state/esping-andersen.pdf Hudson, Ch. , and Lidstrom, A. ( 2002 ) . National School Policy Changes in Britain and Sweden. In Local Education Policies: Comparing Sweden and Britain, erectile dysfunction. Ch. Hudson and A. Lidstrom. Basingstoke ; New York: Palgrave, 27-64. Chan, D. , and Mok, K. ( 2001 ) .Educational Reforms and Coping Schemes under the Tidal Wave of Marketisation: a comparative survey of Hong Kong and the mainland.Comparative Education 37 ( 1 ) : 21-41. Simkins, T. ( 2000 ) . Education Reform and Managerialism: Comparing the Excellence of Schools and Colleges.Journal of Education Policy15 ( 3 ) : 317-332. 2008-2009 Policy Address: Embracing New Challenge ( 2009 ) . Retrieved December 14, 2012 from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Web site: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.policyaddress.gov.hk/08-09/eng/policy.htm Sawada, Y. ( 2004 ) . The societal security system in Hong Kong: Constitution and readjustment of the broad public assistance model ,The Developing Economies, ( 42 ) Pp:198–216