Statesmen IV

This was the time where British politics came into play. The government decided to upgrade all the colleges into universities. Thus Hong Kong have eight universities that are supported by the Government, and one private university.

The number of undergraduate bloomed. 10% of the students who completed their secondary school education would finally enter the universities as a result. The proportion keeps increasing as the number of undergraduate programmes are also in surge. In the past (when there were only the Big Three), there were around 3% students who could finally reach the universities.

The apex of the pyramid had been blunted. This produced two effects: first, we thought we had more educated people and elites in the community (which was wrong); second, it destroyed the stairway of society that next generations from low socioeconomic class could hardly climb up, since becoming a university student was much easier. It was until they graduate did they realize that they was not able to find a job that was superior to a job for the people who did not finish secondary school education.

Going back to the Singapore medical training system, since everyone can almost get the training they desire and the hospitals are responsible for the 5-year training. They will become happy during the programmes, until the examination which would definitely eliminate a large proportion of people. Even worse, the people who survive the examination are not necessarily better than before.

The doctor concluded: I wish there were some people in the authority who can foresee the problems in the next 5 to 10 years, and stop the change.

In my opinion, they don't need to foresee the problem there. They just have to study how Hong Kong became after the upgrading. As Winston Churchill said. "Study history, study history. In history lie all the secrets of statecraft." Our consultant was undoubtedly a better historian and statesman than the people in the authority in Singapore, and in Hong Kong.

P.S. Don't get me wrong, my friend. I never think that a university undergraduate was a better person than those who were not. Please see the cases of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.