The Purpose of Associate Degree

It has been revealed that around 3.5 percent of students admitted to the associate degree courses did not meet the entry requirement. So, why would these students still be admitted? In my opinion, associate degree is designed as a ’second chance’ for those students who could not meet the entry requirement for universities but can still qualify to study for certain lower courses, in order to stand a chance for a proper job in the future. It is not designed to ensure that every student could graduate from higher institutions.

Lowering the entry requirement by the institutions themselves is a wrong approach and this must be condemned, with measures taken for correction. Some has stated that some institutions have adopted a ‘lenient entry, stringent exit’ approach for these students, but I believe this is plainly wrong. Such approach would send out a wrong message to the society and particularly the borderline students. I believe that the society should adopt a stricter view for students who simply do not work as hard as others, but have chosen to waste their time during the education period. They should then face the consequences themselves and cannot always expect the assistance from the government. Who is it to blame when you do not spend the effort?

The quality of associate degree programmes must be protected, and lowering the entry requirement can only further erode the quality. It is time that the Education Bureau set up some kind of Audit Committee to command regular checking to ensure the quality of associate degree and potential indiscriminate admissions. The institutions must not be allowed any chance to admit students simply for the money only. If this happens, both the quality of the programmes and the quality of the graduate are both in serious doubt.