Professor Stephen Cheung Yan-leung (second right), president of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, toasts with colleagues to celebrate the Executive Council's approval of the institute's university title application on Tuesday. Provided to China Daily

The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) received the government's approval for its formal elevation to full university status on Tuesday. It will be renamed the Education University of Hong Kong.

The approval from the Executive Council comes ahead of legislative approval, with a new law formalizing its ascension to be tabled on March 2. However, a speedy passage is unlikely due to a legislative impasse brought about by opposition filibusters.

HKIEd president Stephen Cheung Yan-leung urged recalcitrant lawmakers to suspend their delaying tactics so this year's students could graduate from a fully fledged university.

Hours earlier, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying warned that fresh graduates faced a more difficult labor market unless government assistance, stuck in the legislative queue, could be passed.

The upgrade in status recognized the school's contributions over the years while also reflecting public confidence in the institution and its graduates, Secretary for Education Eddie Ng Hak-kim said.

The new status welcomes HKIEd into the city's family of University Grants Committee-funded institutions. This grants access to taxpayer funds for faculty, capital works and other academic-related projects. It also provides expert advice from the government on strategic development and resource requirements.

Twenty-one-year-old final year Language Studies undergraduate Andrea Poon Tze-mun was ecstatic about the news. She said her soon-to-be alma mater's new credibility would help her job-hunting efforts in a few months.

Although Poon will not be able to benefit much from an expected boost in resources, funding and upgrades, she will be among the first graduates to have "university" written on her degree. "The reputation boost alone will go a long way for me and alumni, and my starting salary expectations have basically doubled," Poon explained.

Finding funding to develop the school has been anything but easy, according to HKIEd president Stephen Cheung.

He said donors were more likely to give to universities - with the hopes of an honorary degree in return.

Cheung has a far-reaching vision for his alumni. He hopes his alumni will be teaching primary school children how to write smartphone apps in maths classes or encouraging secondary school students to making astute investment risk assessments.

The school was established in 1994 following the merger of four former Colleges of Education and the Institute of Language in Education.

tim@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 01/27/2016 page7)