Implementation of the Voucher Education System in Hong Kong
The importance of education transcends all the essential aspects in the society, and because it serves as the foundation of an individual’s mental capability and capacity, academic institutions are regarded to be one of the most essential elements in shaping one’s knowledge and learning. However, due to the changes that happen to our society, several changes must be accommodated to improve the quality of education that an academic institution offers, which include implementation of new programs. An example is the education voucher, which is a certificate by which parents are given the ability to pay for the education of their children at a school of their choices, rather than the public school to which they were assigned ( 2007). The implementation of the education voucher system in Hong Kong is seen to have many advantages, which include allowing the students for their free choice of academic programs and institutions, sending the students to more advanced institutions for higher education standards, and additional funding of schools for their programs (2002). In fact, the government of Hong Kong has already implemented the system to profit and non-profit kindergartens, in its aim to subsidize school fees (2007).
However, despite the mentioned advantages, I believe that there are more disadvantages brought about by the education voucher system. One of them is the fact that because academic institutions see this as business and competition, they will be focusing more in attracting students and not on education, thus, decreasing the quality of education. Second, allowing the children to have “too” independent decisions (2002) can mislead them and make them disregard long-term benefits, and decrease their efforts in studying. Fourth, there will be reduction of enrollees to essential subjects that do not suit their taste (2002), which sacrifices the essentiality of primary and secondary education. Due to reduction of enrollees, several schools will be closed down, thus, depriving the rights of other students studying at those institutions. With these, the government will be funding less programs for the development of important subjects including biology and agriculture (2002), decreasing the opportunity for employment and development in the field. (2002) also emphasized the tendency for over or under supply of graduates in certain knowledge or skills. The over supply of graduates in a certain field can decrease employment opportunities, while under supply of graduates can hinder its development. Lastly, the education voucher can increase the incidence of discrimination, as academic institutions can get to choose the students to admit (2002), depriving the rights of disabled and poor children. It also leads to the discrimination and job insecurities among staffs and teachers of different institutions, which would contribute to the deterioration of the standard of education being offered. With these views, I believe that its implementation in Hong Kong must still be reviewed and evaluated several times, to take note of the myriad of negative consequences it will bring to the nation. Although this type of system is applicable to Western countries, its applicability in the Hong Kong education system is not guaranteed.
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