Hong Kong’s CityU can ‘bear 3 to 5% funding cut’, says head
Freddy Boey says university will avoid firing employees and focus on digitalisation effort to enhance efficiency
CityU president Freddy Boey said on Thursday the university preferred not to sack staff amid possible funding cuts and instead focus on a digitalisation programme to enhance efficiency.
Boey cautioned that funding cuts by the government in the next triennium, the three academic years from 2025 to 2028, should not be drastic.
“If there is a cut, we are anticipating trying our best to make up for it. I would say that 3 to 5 [per cent] will be something that will be very significant, but I think it’s something that we can bear with,” he said.
He added that local universities were not alone in facing cuts, as overseas institutions in the United Kingdom and Australia were also receiving lower funding.
His remarks followed comments by education minister Christine Choi Yuk-lin, who said authorities would push through a reduction of university funding amid a government deficit that was expected to be nearly HK$100 billion (US$12.8 billion) this financial year.