It is inevitable nowadays that we are facing more and more severe challenges and competition, as the economic environment deteriorates. The crucial key to holding on to Hong Kong's favorable position is its talent resource. Not only should we solicit talents far and wide, also, we have to cultivate more local talents. In order to enrich human resources, the government needs to coordinate the education system. At the moment, university places in Hong Kong are in short supply - every year, of the more than 80,000 high school graduates, only 15 percent are enrolled - which is the shackle of local talent cultivation.

The proportion of college students is relatively low, compared to our competitor cities. This weakens the competitive power of Hong Kong, impacts negatively on the urban developing motivation, and, what's more, is unfair for those who are qualified but not able to pursue higher education just because of a limited number of student places in universities. Therefore, as a previous member of the University Grants Committee, and knowing the expenditure of the government to support a university student henceforth, I always call for more college places and private universities. On average, the bursary needs to spend around HK$200,000 every year for one student only, and the establishment of private colleges or institutes, which assume sole responsibility for its profits or losses, alleviates burdens on the expense to a great extent.

It is heartening to see that the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, which is more than a century old - six of its faculty members have won Nobel Prizes, has decided to move its campus from Singapore to Hong Kong by the end of next year. The Education Bureau of the SAR government has appropriated a piece of land in Mount Davis, where the former Victoria Road Detention Centre site was located, for the school's campus in Hong Kong.

It is noticeable that although Hong Kong seemed inferior to Singapore in several recent rankings and surveys, in the Global Liveability Ranking and Report 2013, published recently by the Economist Intelligent Unit, Hong Kong scored 31st place and Singapore 51st. Booth's decision to move here affirms the high educational level of Hong Kong internationally.

I sincerely hope that more top international business schools or other elite schools will set up a campus in Hong Kong, which would bring multiple benefits to the city. First, it enhances the opportunity for getting higher education for local high school graduates; moreover, the private institutes are responsible for their own profits and losses, so no or little public money is used in supporting them; third, the distinguished teaching mode of different reputable colleges diversifies the educational system in the city, providing more options for local students to choose what they prefer. Chicago Booth is a good start for the betterment of Hong Kong's education.

As for adding places in the existing universities, the current mechanical scale-up mode should be abandoned to avoid mismatch of talents. The economic pattern is oriented to the tertiary industry, which includes the financial and banking sector, trading, the logistics industry and tourism, so the newly added degree courses should be based on the related disciplines to cater to the needs of economic development. Only then can the employment rate of university graduates be elevated and local economic growth be promoted effectively.

The author is vice-president of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong.

(HK Edition 10/11/2013 page9)