CUHK head says bulk of school reserves tied up as Hong Kong plans funding cuts
Professor Dennis Lo acknowledges city’s financial woes but warns funding cuts should not undermine global education hub objective
Most of the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s reserves have specific purposes and cannot be redirected arbitrarily, its president has said, adding that he hopes possible government funding cuts will not affect the institution’s new initiatives.
Professor Dennis Lo Yuk-ming on Thursday acknowledged the city’s financial challenges, saying the university was willing to go through tough times with society.
But Lo also highlighted that any cuts should not undermine Hong Kong’s competitiveness as an international education hub.
The top molecular geneticist took office as the ninth president of the university on January 8 and met the press on Thursday.
His tenure begins as the government grapples with a huge deficit of nearly HK$100 billion (US$12.8 billion) in the current financial year, with public universities expected to bear the brunt of funding cuts.
“The global competition in the education sector will wait for no one. We will regress if we do not make progress … All new plans need resources. I hope all funding adjustments for universities will not affect those new plans,” he said.
