Less than 3% of Hong Kong’s GDP comes from manufacturing. Finance, trade, and other knowledge-based service sectors make up the rest of the economy, which is among the world’s wealthiest and healthiest. To keep its economy humming and its population employed, Hong Kong needs a smart, flexible workforce.
As the territory entered the 21st century, its government concluded that the education system it inherited from the British was too rigid, narrow, and elitist to produce such a workforce. After concentrating on one subject for three years, students graduated from university with a bachelor’s degree but without being taught the knowledge and skills they might need to navigate the complexities of a modern, globalized society.
Starting this year, freshmen at Hong Kong’s eight public universities will study a mix of majors, minors, and required courses—just like their counterparts in Australia, Canada, and the US. Mandated and funded by Hong Kong’s government,...
