Mary Ann Benitez from The Standard



There are fears ethnic minorities will remain at a disadvantage when competing for university places under the new secondary school curriculum because of government refusal to recognize the Chinese language curriculum for such students.

Yuen Kwok-ming, assistant principal at Caritas Tuen Mun Marden Foundation Secondary School, said he is worried for his first batch of 80 ethnic minority students, who will sit the Diploma of Secondary Education examination next school year.

"All of them cannot attend the Hong Kong Chinese language examination course, so they just attend the [General Certificate of Secondary Education curriculum] but many universities in Hong Kong do not recognize its standard," Yuen said. It is "very difficult" for the minorities to continue at local universities because of the language problem.

Yuen was interviewed at the 1st Philippine Education Fair, held at the weekend in Wan Chai, where 100 parents and students inquired about studying in Manila from nine participating universities.

Father Nemesio Que, director of office of admission and aid at Ateneo De Manila University, said because of the cheap and quality education, they have South Korean and even US students finishing degrees in the Philippines.

"Those who want to pursue medicine come to the Philippines now to pursue their studies, as it is expensive in the United States," he said.

Richela dela Cruz, undergraduate marketing officer at De La Salle University's Office for Strategic Communications, said in terms of quality, the Philippines' top universities are "at par or even better than in other countries in Asia."

Hong Kong-born and bred Ben Bernardez, who went to the Philippines for his university degree, said he did not have a difficult time finding a job in the SAR after graduation.

"We hope the youth here will study there [in the Philippines]. Most Filipinos [abroad] do not realize the potential they have in contributing to the Philippines," he said.