My friend's mom is against the choice of associate degree in Hong Kong, as she is quite concerned with the prospect after her son obtained the associate degree. I see this point well, and acknowledge that there are defects about the associate degrees in Hong Kong. I am not surprised by how poorly received associate degrees are, but how poor the education system in Hong Kong.

I don't think that associate degrees are damned beings, as long as they provide choices for people, and they serve the purpose, there should be no difference between associate degree and higher diploma. I doubt the problem lies with the consumers or with the system itself. Maybe certain consumers still cannot accept that associate degrees are good way-outs, and it needs time and a suitable environment for it to change. Yet, it is also true that we are not yet given the time to get accustomed to associate degrees. Why? Because the government, the initaitor of associate degrees, have decided to slash its budget on subsidies for these courses. Okay, I understand that the government is now facing a great financial difficulty, and maybe certain portion of funding on education would be worthwhile to cut, maybe associate degrees are amongst their targets too. But I just do not understand why they suddenly came up with a total change in policy only in a year or two's time. Are those running the government treating people like idiots, but in fact they are the only idiots, being unfortunately put in the government? Or just that we are too idiotic to understand the mastery construction of the government runners? Maybe we are too stupid, or NOT WORTHWHILE for slightly better treatment.

But I really want to ask why the system has to put so many people in misery? Education system in Hong Kong is already renowned for its harshness, and even as a partial survivor like me, I would still have to agree that it's harsh, and cruel enough to those people who may not be able to master a certain part of it just because they are not too interested in it. But why treat those who may have the ability to make it with this harshness? Furthermore, why allow S6 students, even only with 4-5As, to enter university without the need to take A-Level Exam? This is not only unfair to students who are taking the A-Level Exam, which might probably have affected the distribution of grades, but also unfair to those taking A-Level in the sense that they would not have as much chances to enter university just because they had not done well in Cert Level.

I would say it's the best to abolish A-Level promptly and ask all the students to enter university directly after they had known their results in Cert Level. Why should they continue a trail while they had already known that they would probably get nothing out from it? Nobody would be as idiot as doing that, and it's only nuts who would still go ahead. I respect those S6 students who enter university without passing A-Level in my year, and I know that they are working really hard to win for themselves, what they have done is worthwhile. But more importantly, the students taking A-Level feel much better just because those enter university a year younger would not take away their chances by a large portion, but what the universities have been doing right now? They are even going to accept students with 3-4As, or probably even less, to enter university right away. A sane person would not take such risk, and a sane person would just say that I'd start working harder earlier to get a comfortable and less-worrying life for myself. But what should others become? Die, or whatelse?

That's totally BULLSHIT on the government's part.............