bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Chan Ho-him

Hundreds of mainland and international exchange students will not be coming to Hong Kong after three more universities revealed on Friday that incoming exchange programmes had been cancelled amid the ongoing anti-government protests.
Among the eight publicly funded universities in Hong Kong, the University of Science and Technology (HKUST) said last month that exchange students would not be joining in the coming semester.
On Friday, Polytechnic, Baptist, and Education universities confirmed they had taken similar action.
Baptist and Polytechnic universities started the second term this week after suffering damage to campus facilities last year when protesters occupied the campus.
Police officer among eight arrested next to Tuen Mun ‘Lennon Wall’
The remaining four, the University of Hong Kong (HKU), as well as the City, Lingnan and Chinese universities, made it clear their incoming exchange programmes would go on, even as HKU and CityU warned of a decline in the number of inbound exchange students.
Outgoing student exchange programmes at the eight universities remain unaffected.
Hong Kong’s universities, many of which are among the world’s top 100, have been popular destinations for exchange students around the world, especially those who wanted to experience the mix of Eastern and Western cultures in the city.

But amid the violent protests, especially at CUHK and PolyU, scores of mainland and foreign students have left and returned home.
Staff and students believe the universities’ decisions were understandable, even though there were concerns whether the halt on receiving incoming exchange students could affect the university’s global rankings in the long-term, as one of the many rating indicators include the proportion of inbound and outbound exchange students.
Baptist University said its programme had been temporarily suspended after discussions with partner institutions “considering the impact of the events in recent months on exchange students”.
A Baptist University spokeswoman added: “The university will continue to monitor social conditions, maintain close liaison with partner institutions, and make relevant arrangements for exchange students again when it is deemed appropriate.”


Spokeswomen for Education University and PolyU confirmed the suspension of their exchange programmes for a semester.
Students and teaching staff were divided over the cancellation of exchange programmes.
Aidana Turlybekova, a 20-year-old PolyU Year Two student from Kazakhstan, said her family had expressed worries over the situation in Hong Kong, so she understood the reason to cancel exchange programmes, but felt it was a pity as the university was still generally safe.
“We really get to know new [exchange students] every semester, but maybe it’s the right thing to do for now, only for one semester,” she said.
Occupy ringleader Shiu Ka-chun relieved of teaching post by Baptist University
But a Year Four student and student representative on PolyU’s governing council Owan Li worried that the suspension of exchange programmes could impact the university’s rankings.
“The decision is not ideal because one of the major factors of the universities’ global rankings is internationalisation, which would be negatively impacted by the drop of exchange students,” he said.


According to the latest edition of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings, CityU, PolyU, and Baptist University, ranked 19th, 25th and 58th respectively in Asia after jumping a few places, but HKU, HKUST, and Chinese University, each slipped one place, to third, eighth and 10th in Asia.
As many as 40 countries and jurisdiction had issued travel warnings or alerts for Hong Kong during the protests, which first erupted in June triggered by the now-withdrawn extradition bill.
China wants more students ‘to serve country’s strategic demands’
Baptist University senior lecturer Bruce Lui Ping-kuen expected if the exchange programmes were only suspended for the current semester, the impact on rankings could be limited. But he said it was unnecessary to cancel all inbound exchange programmes in the second term.
“I believe from the university’s perspective, they might be concerned about exchange students’ safety, but I think there is no need for schools to be overly sensitive since the situation [in Hong Kong] has calmed down recently,” Lui said.
Meanwhile, CityU and HKU, which have not suspended their programmes, predicted incoming exchange students would be affected.
A spokeswoman for HKU, which takes in more than 1,200 incoming exchange students each year, told the Post they expect to see a “significant drop in the overall number of inbound students on exchange” for the second semester.


Some traditional Chinese medicine lessons at proposed Hong Kong medical school

University of Hong Kong head hopes any budget funding cuts will be ‘moderate’

Why Hong Kong must be careful about cutting university funding

PolyU head confident of securing approval to run Hong Kong’s third medical school

Universities in Hong Kong

Hong Kong universities adopt safety first approach as protest fears force them to suspend student exchange programmes

A message left on the campus of Polytechnic University by anti-government protesters. Photo: Reuters

A security guard stands guard at the entrance to Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hung Hom, while the campus reopens for the start of term two. Police Force besieged the campus for 13 days in November 2019 to disperse anti-government protesters during the extradition bill saga. 13JAN20 SCMP / Nora Tam

Hong Kong universities start new term still scarred by protest havoc, leaving some students mulling city exit

Staff and students faced new security measures when entering the universities for the new term. Photo: Felix Wong

PolyU said on Monday that most of the damages had been fixed, but some parts of the campus including the swimming pool, some footbridges, and part of the jogging track - which made up the 6,400-square-meter open area for public use - were still undergoing repair work. 13JAN20 SCMP/ Nora Tam

TOPSHOT - Anti-government protesters start a large fire in a staircase at the main entrance that leads into the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 18, 2019. - Hong Kong police early November 18 warned for the first time that they may use "live rounds" after pro-democracy protesters fired arrows and threw petrol bombs at officers at a beseiged university campus, as the crisis engulfing the city veered deeper into danger. Protests have tremored through the global financial hub since June, with many in the city of 7.5 million people venting fury at eroding freedoms under Chinese rule. (Photo by Ye Aung Thu / AFP)

In the wake of campus clashes, at least four Hong Kong universities restrict public access to open spaces … but should they?

A security checkpoint at Baptist University. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Workers are working at the opening area and the entrance of Polytechnic University, Hunghom. 08JAN20 SCMP/Winson Wong

Image of the open space at Lingnan University in Tuen Mun. 09JAN20 SCMP / Jonathan Wong

A security guard standing by at the sculpture garden of an open space area outside Baptist University's Communication and Visual Arts Building. The University has strengthened access control, after anti-government protesters vandalised and occupied the campus during the extradition bill saga. 07JAN20 Photo:SCMP/Xiaomei Chen

City University says donations affected by ongoing Hong Kong protests, with sponsors backing out of past commitments

The scene from CityU as protesters and police engage in a stand-off. Photo: Sam Tsang

Clashes erupt between anti-government protesters and riot police on Sir Philip Haddon-Cave Sports Field as officers fire tear gas into the campus of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Sha Tin during a dispersal operation. 12NOV19 SCMP / Winson Wong

Damages left at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus in Hung Hom as few protesters remain inside. Hong Kong Police Force has besieged the University since November 17. 26NOV19 SCMP / K. Y. Cheng

Anti-government protesters set up a roadblocks outside the City University of Hong Kong in Kowloon Tong. 12NOV19 SCMP / Sam Tsang

Image of the open space at the University of Hong Kong in Pok Fu Lam. 09JAN20 SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

After Hong Kong protest devastation, Chinese University returns for new term under shadow of Wuhan pneumonia

Students wear masks on their return to Chinese University on Monday under the spectre of a mystery bug. Photo: Winson Wong

Students and staff at Chinese University embrace for the beginning of the second term wearing masks on Monday under the shadow of pneumonia fear. 06JAN20 SCMP/ Winson Wong

News

Hong Kong

Education

Politics


Polytechnic, Baptist and Education universities all say programmes have been cancelled for coming term



Polytechnic, Baptist and Education universities all say programmes have been cancelled for coming term.
