The 1st Wah Yan International Conference (Hong Kong, 1988) – “Wah Yan Family Around The World”

The Agenda

Participants:

Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, International Convenor and Past Presidents of Hong Kong and Kowloon WYPSA's, Delegates from overseas, principals of Hong Kong and Kowloon colleges.

Agenda Item – Unified Name

“Wah Yan Past Students Association” has been the name of the body that represents Wah Yan College alumni for many years. Some alumni now feel that the name of the Association may be inappropriate, especially since the Association now has affiliated Chapters throughout many places of the world and that a more appropriate name should be chosen to be consistently applied to all Chapters of the alumni organization throughout the world.

The Conference or any resolutions reached by the delegates who attended the Conference do not have any binding power over the actions or decisions of each individual Chapter represented or unrepresented at the Conference. But it is high time for Wah Yan alumni throughout the world to consider what they would like to be known as by the world at large.

Agenda Item – Constitution and Bylaws/Council Structures

1. How to legally form an association?
2. How to legally run an association?

Agenda Item – Wah Yan Post-Secondary Education Trust Fund

THE PROBLEM

Since the early fifties Hong Kong has suffered from a shortage of university places for its students. For more than 30 years many well-qualified students have been turned away annually from the universities; not became they were not qualified but because there were no further places available. This had become so regular that Hong Kong parents have, almost automatically, made arrangements and provided funds for their sons and daughters to study elsewhere – if they were fortunate enough to have the funds. Even the opening of the Chinese University in the sixties scarcely slowed the growing shortage. Hong Kong students went abroad in increasingly large numbers to Australia, Canada, the U.S. and Britain in their quest of higher education. In those days most of the students could manage the expenses with only some hardship to their families. University education in Austria was free, fees in Canada were low, ranging from C$500 to C$1,000, the U.S. provided many scholarships and university fees in Britain were scarcely more than £800 per year.

CRISIS.

But in 1980 came a real crisis. For now, not only were four out of every five qualified students denied entrance to the two universities in Hong Kong but now many of those who had arranged to go overseas could no longer afford to do so. As if by agreement, the countries to which Hong Kong students had been going, suddenly began to raise their fees sharply. In that year Australia introduced a ‘visa fee’ to be paid annually by overseas students doing higher studies. This amounted to A$1,500 – in that year and has since risen to A$4,500 – Canada began to raise university fees from an average of C$1,000 to the present figure of C$6,000. But the greatest blow of all came with the new government in Britain when the annual fees were raised from £800 to a staggering £4,000 with a further £2,000 for courses such as dentistry and medicine.

Needy students, no matter how clever or well qualified, had no further hope of doing higher studies overseas unless some new source of funds could be found. In those years several philantropists came forward with an offer of one or two scholarships each year but it made little impression on the great numbers of clever students, shut out of the local universities and unable to afford the cost of overseas education. One might have thought that a supreme effort would have been made to meet the crisis by providing places locally at all costs. But, in fact, today in 1986 the situation has grown worse.

In 1980, 20% of those who successfully passed the university entrance examinations were admitted to the two universities; today, in 1986, only 15.9% of them can do so.

BEGINNINGS

Obviously, the only thing to do in such a crisis was to help the deserving students, whose families were in need, by paying all or some of their fees in overseas universities. Alas, it was not the government or the schools or even the people of Hong Kong who first noticed this very unfair situation. It was the students themselves. Many were now caught in the middle of their studies overseas and faced with expenses they did not expect and could not meet. Some had all their carefully arranged plans to study abroad quite frustrated. Two such from Wah Yah College who had waited in vain for a place in H.K.U., but had been eager offered places in Australia, had all arrangements made to set off for Australia when they were suddenly asked to pay the new ‘visa fee,’ henceforth to be paid annually by all overseas students going to Australia. It was an added HK$9,000 to their expenses and neither family could find the money. They could manage the airfare and living expenses; but no more. The father in one family was dead and the mother was a hawker. The other family lived in a small flat in Western where the father made a living by selling things he made in the home. In great distress the students went to the principal to see if anything could be done. After a week of indecision the principal contacted four wealthy Past Students of the school and was greatly pleased to have a positive response from all of them. Not only was it possible to help the two students but a good sum remained over for other emergencies.

They were not long in coming. A very promising student, top of his form for most of his time at school, inexplicably only made the waiting list for H.K.U. When he failed to be called, an uncle in Michigan offered to take him over to the U.S. and provide what was needed for his university studies. His mother, an unlicenced hawker, could afford no more than the airfare. The father was unable to work. All went well for a year and then the uncle went bankrupt early in the second year of the student's studies. He wrote to the principal of his school, appealing for help and promised to work doubly hard to cut down the expenses. The principal sent US$2,000 and the student completed his four year course in 2½ years, coming top in his year and winning an annual grant of US$13,000 for the period of his doctorate studies! Besides doing his doctorate he was now in a position to support his mother in Hong Kong.

Some months later, in the same year, a student who had left Form 5 and done his A-Level studies in another school got into financial difficulties in the University of Manchester where he was taking engineering. His family lived in a low-cost housing estate and had underestimated the cost of studies in Britain where the fees had already been raised. He could not find the funds to pay for his third year studies and was in danger of being asked to leave the university: a great tragedy as he had only ten months to go. He wrote to his former principal in Wah Yan who sent £1,000 for his fees and the loan of a further £1,000 to cover debts run up during the previous year.

In the summer of 1981 a student, who had not enter Form 6 because his family thought they could not afford to pay for a university education, graduated from the H.K. Polytechnic, coming out on top in his year and winning a travelling studentship. He was also offered a one-year M.Sc. course in the University of Sussex in management science. The fee for the year would be HK$30,000 and the student's-family could only manage to put together $20,000. The school agreed to make up the difference and enabled him to complete a successful course.

It is important to note that all these cases were of students whose families could afford some but not all of the funds needed. The students were all of good promise and all of them finished their courses with results ranging from satisfactory to brilliant. However, there were two drawbacks. The five grants mentioned above were on a “once-off’ basis and no arrangement was made to support the student further. Also, the grants were made from the capital sum in the possession of the school principal and the fund was likely to disappear within a few years.

THE TRUST FUND

Early in 1981 it was decided that a proper fund should be set up to provide promising students who were short of funds with a grant for their university studies overseas to be renewed for three years. This would remove much financial anxiety during the three years of undergraduate studies, free them from taking odd-jobs and let them concentrate on their work. It was further agreed that the grants should generally be available for the more ordinary courses offered, such as: arts, science, business and related courses. Only in exceptional circumstances would three-year grants be made for longer courses, such as law and architecture as when, for instance, other members of the family would be in position to fund the remaining costs. Those taking medicine would not be considered except, perhaps, in the event of a financial crisis.

To qualify, students should have obtained good A-Level results, good enough to obtain a place in an approved overseas university and should, in fact, have been accepted by such a university before applying for a grant. The student should be in need of help but not to the extent that his family could make no contribution whatever to his further studies. It was also considered that the applicant should have been outgoing and active in his school with some promise that he would contribute to society when he graduated.

A Board of Trustees was set up and the necessary legal and government approval was sought and obtained. The capital fund and all contributions to it were exempt from taxation in Hong Kong. The board consisted of the Principal of Wah Yan College who would be the chairman (ex officio), the vice-principal of the college, Dr Fok Kai Cheong, Mr Patrick Yu Suk Shiu, Mr Hugo Hung, Mr Patrick Wu Po Kong and Mr Pooh Wing Cheong. Within the board there would be legal, academic and financial committees to be responsible for the various needs that would arise. The name chosen for the trust fund was ‘The Wah Yan Post-Secondary Education Trust Fund.’ Those eligible for grants would be the 3,150 students of the two Wah Yan Colleges. Other students of exceptional need who showed good academic promise could also apply.

A vigorous effort was made during 1982 to solicit funds from those interested in higher education for Hong Kong students and, in particular, from past students of Wah Yah College who had the good fortune to have had the funds for their own education or who did not have to experience the traumatic struggle of present-day students to win a place in higher education in their time. A total of HK$1.5 million was donated within the first year. It was a promising start. The funds were put carefully into shares and bank deposits, with the hope that it would yield somewhat more than 10% annually, providing about ten grants and allowing for some growth in the capital. Unfortunately, the time was bad. The collapse of land prices brought down the value of shares and the interest on funds transferred to bank deposits dropped sharply. It is a great tribute to those on the finance committee that now six students are receiving grants annually and it has been possible to raise the grant from $15,000 to $20,000 a year. For reasons mentioned above and others the capital has remained at HK$1.5 million. The demand for help increases all the time and overseas universities increase their fees almost annually. The need for increased donations to the Fund is now very urgent and it is hoped that the capital fund can be doubled, if at all possible. We know that the grant will have to be raised above $20,000 before too long (the government grant for overseas students is now $27,000 per annum) to meet rising expenses. We hope to be able to help four students each year, making a total of twelve receiving grants.

FIRST FRUITS

It is a pleasure to report that, besides the students whose histories have been related above, five others who were awarded three-year grants have also completed their studies. The father of one is a storekeeper in a godown, his mother a hawker. Mother had to rely on his mother, also a hawker, for his support. His father was unemployed. The father of a third was a fireman and of the fourth, a domestic cook. The fifth lived with his family in a low-cost homing estate. Their success is a great credit to themselves and their families who had to struggle to make up the expenses the grant did not cover.

[The names and histories of these ten trust fund recipients have been omitted from this online version due to the privacy issue. We are happy to share their success story here if they agree to do so.]

We are happy to say that, besides the ten students mentioned above who were greatly helped through their studies by donations made to the Trust Fund, another six students are currently doing their studies helped by Trust Fund grants. This is a magnificent record for the short period of five years since funds for higher education became available. Two other students are awaiting hopefully for grants with their studies.

THE ANSWER

Is there an answer to the shortage of places for higher education in Hong Kong? There does not seem any prospect in the foreseeable future that Hong Kong will be able to provide places in higher education for even half the students who deserve it. The government has tacitly admitted this by starting its own scheme to finance students to go overseas, albeit on a small scale. It is a welcome change in attitude. However, such aid as is on offer (the grants are for $27,000) is restricted to students who wish to study in Britain. We are, nevertheless, heartened to know that the Wah Yan Post-Secondary Education Fund Scheme is on the right lines. In other words, in the years to come the best possible thing Hong Kong can do for its many clever students is to help them study overseas when the local places are full.

We wish, therefore, to make a plea to all who sympathise with the plight of many of our bright students, shut out from the two universities and with insufficient fund to pay for their own education abroad.

We hope that Past Students who were never faced with the difficulties of present-day students and many wealthy businessmen in Hong Kong will understand that there are few projects to which they can apply their surplus money more worthily than the helping of needy but deserving students with their education. It is a good that will last for many, many years after the donor has passed from the scene.

SCHEDULE I

Higher education places in Hong Kong compared with other select countries.

If the recent proposal to increase degree courses to four years is implemented, the number of places available annually in higher education in Hong Kong will be reduced further by almost one third.