General knowledge learning is key to college education

HK Opinion
H03 China Daily Hong Kong Edition Victor Fung Keung
2012-08-25
General knowledge learning is key to college education

Victor Fung Keung

As an educator, it is gut-wrenching to learn from a survey released on Aug 20 that 50 percent of the Generation Y (young people aged between 18 and 31) need constant mentoring, as they are incapable of working independently.

The Consultancy firm Tamty McGill Consultants interviewed 400 employers and 600 Generation Y members (those born between 1981 and 1994 and many are university graduates) and concluded that “members of Generation Y tend to be more spoiled than previous generations.”

It makes my heart bleed to learn from the report that many employers interviewed said their young employees lack basic skills at the office and often need to be told what to do. It simply means we, as teachers, have failed our students!

I know this is an excuse, but the system of 3-year university education, which is specialty-oriented, does have its shortcomings. If students major in information technology, IT is all they study. They don’t know how to deal with people; they have little idea what work ethics are, and they change jobs often.

Yes, they are spoiled as they don’t need to work for survival. Most of their parents are wealthy enough to support them should they become unemployed. In short, they are in want of the “fighting spirit” that has propelled Hong Kong into becoming a major world financial center.

Fortunately, the weaknesses of our Generation Y revealed in the consultancy report can largely be rectified with the 4-year university education that will start next month. I am sure four years later when the consultancy does another survey, the new cohort of college graduates will display a very different set of characteristics.

With an additional year of study, many universities can afford to provide general education courses which will equip students to become well-rounded (i.e. the concept of whole-person development) when they finish their four years of study in any discipline.

For example, the program that I am responsible for – B.S.Sc. in financial journalism at HK Baptist University – requires students to take only 39 units (about 13 courses) in financial journalism, compared with 68 units (about 23 courses) in general education (GE) and other electives that students are compelled to study. These general education and elective courses will help students develop knowledge, perception, attitudes, and the skills necessary to understand society’s traditions and past, its accomplishments and aspirations, and its problems and needs.

The goal is for the students to attain the ability to learn and work with others. GE courses are designed to develop intellectual and practical skills, including proficiency in written, oral, and visual communication; inquiry techniques; critical and creative thinking; quantitative applications; teamwork; and problem-solving.

It will be compulsory for students to take a wide range of courses in GE, including mathematics, sciences and technologies, histories, humanities, arts, and social sciences. Courses in GE give students an opportunity to exercise individual and social responsibilities through the study of ethical principles and reasoning, application of civic knowledge, interaction with diverse cultures.

The new students who join HKBU next month will graduate in 2016 with these attributes: 1. They will possess up-to-date, in-depth knowledge of an academic specialty, as well as a broad range of cultural and general knowledge; 2. Be able to think critically and creatively; 3. Be independent, life-long learners with open minds and inquiring spirits; 4. Have bilingual competency in English and Chinese, and the ability to articulate ideas clearly and coherently; 5. Have the necessary IT skills, as well as numerical and problem-solving skills, to function effectively at work and in everyday life; 6. Be responsible citizens with an international outlook and a sense of ethics and civility; and 7. Be ready to serve, lead and work in a team (teamwork).

Hong Kong employers, I am sure, will be happy to work with university students who have received four years of college education. The graduates of 2016 will have the motivation, skills and team spirit to get the job done. They don’t need to be told what to do.

The author is coordinator of the financial journalism program at Hong Kong Baptist University.