Call for Members’ Participation in the Review of the Size and Composition of the CUHK Council (Please scroll down for English version)
各位會員：
相信大家已收到農曆年前校方發出有關校董會重your組諮詢之電郵。大學校董會改組一事醞釀經年，歷經2009年及2016年兩次方案，以及最近由三位立法會議員校董直接向立法會提交的方案。是次校董會再次成立專責委員會，因應2016年方案及立法會議員校董建議，就方案進行持份者諮詢。專責小組擬備的背景文件頗見充實。 www.cuhk.edu.hk/council-reorganization_2023/Background information.pdf 可作參考。（文件最後的附件載有現時校董會組成、2016年方案，以及立法會議員校董建議一覽表。）
校董會既持開放態度作廣泛諮詢，員工總會呼籲會員及同工積極參與是次諮詢，盡一己責任，表達意見。以下是簡介校方諮詢渠道及改組背景。
諮詢渠道
1) 諮詢會 – 專責小組舉行的兩次諮詢會詳情如下：
第一場
日期：2023年2月21日（星期二）
時間：下午6時30分至8時30分
地點：李兆基樓7號演講廳
第二場
日期：2023年2月24日（星期五）
時間：下午6時30分至8時30分
地點：李兆基樓5號演講廳舉
2) 網上問卷 – 同事亦可以透過校方提供給各持份者的不記名問卷，向專責委員會表達意見：
https://cuhk.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9zgj49d7LZCmov4
問卷內同事可就現時是否合適時間改組校董會，以及就各界別校董的人數和產生方法等提供意見。
諮詢期 校方表示「任何有關中大校董會的規模和組成的意見可於二○二三年二月底或之前呈交」。
改組背景和建議
就教資會2002年《香港高等教育》報告書（即宋達能報告書）及審計署2003年報告書有關各院校的管治架構的建議，中大於2006年開始展開校董會重組工作，包括邀請校外專家小組進行研究，與校內持份者會面，然後提出建議；校方專家小組建議再進行多輪持份者諮詢。綜合宋達能報告書、審計署建議及多次諮詢的意見，校方於2009年提出方案的主要內容包括：一、減少校董會成員數目，由當時的58人減至約25人；二、校外成員與校內成員比例約為2:1；三、引入民選職員及學生成員。其時，其他教資會院校都已完成校董會改組，改組方向與中大2009年方案大致相同。惟其時學生會與校方因學生成員產生方法及避席事項等未能達成共識，方案終未獲通過。
校方於2016年再就校董會改組成立專責小組，經過諮詢後提出一個微調方案，人數增加至29席，仍在30席以內。至於近日由三位立法會議員校董提出的建議，與2016年方案分別有三：第一，增加校董會副主席一職，與主席一樣，由大學監督（即香港特別行政區行政長官）直接委任；第二，在主席、副主席外，由大學監督委任之校董人數由三位增加至六位；第三，由立法會議員互選的席位由兩位增加至三位。校外校董成員因此增加五名，校內校董人數及產生方式則不變，校董會整體人數增加至34人。
校董會組成事關中文大學長遠管治，對大學發展有深遠影響。在此我們呼籲同工積極參與諮詢，讓大學能集思廣益。員工總會亦歡迎同事電郵意見至 cuegu@cuhk.edu.hk ，讓本會了解同工意見。
香港中文大學員工總會
2023年2月20日
Dear members,
Members should have received the email from the University before the Lunar New Year regarding the consultation for the Review of the Size and Composition of the CUHK Council. While the University has conducted two rounds of reviews in 2009 and 2016 respectively, the current review is based on the proposal generated from the 2016 review and also the latest proposal presented by the three LegCo members of the Council. The University has established a Taskforce for the current review and it is now to consult the stakeholders as appropriate and present its findings to the Council. The background paper prepared by the Taskforce is quite substantial www.cuhk.edu.hk/council-reorganization_2023/Background information.pdf and can be used as a reference. (The appendix at the end of the document contains the current composition of the school management committee, the 2016 plan, and the recommendations of the LegCo members of the CUHK Council.)
As the Council is open the review for consultation, we highly encourage members and colleagues to actively participate in this consultation, fulfill their responsibilities as staff members, and express their opinions. The following summarizes the consultation channels and the background of the review and the current proposal.
Consultation Channels:
- Consultation Sessions – two consultation sessions will be held as below:
First session
Date: 21 February 2023 (Tue)
Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm
Venue: LSK LT7
Second session
Date: 24 February 2023 (Fri)
Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm
Venue: LSK LT5 - Online Survey:
Colleagues can provide comments by making use of the template provided by the University to different stakeholders (https://cuhk.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9zgj49d7LZCmov4). Colleagues can provide opinions about whether now is an appropriate time to conduct the review, and comments on the different proposals about the way that the Council is to be composed.
Consultation Period:
According to the University, comments can reach to the Taskforce by the end of February 2023.
Background of the review and reorganization of the Council
In response to the UGC’s 2002 “Hong Kong Higher Education” report (that is, the Sutherland report) and the Audit Commission’s 2003 report on the governance structure of various institutions, CUHK began the preparatory work for the reorganization of Council in 2006, and had invited an off-campus expert panel to conduct research, to meet with on-campus stakeholders, and to make recommendations. The University expert panel recommended additional rounds of stakeholder consultation. Based on the Sutherland report, the recommendations of the Audit Commission, and the opinions of multiple consultations, the major contents of the 2009 proposal include: 1) reduce the number of Council members from 58 to 25; 2) adjust the ratio of external to internal members to 2:1; 3) introduce elected staff and student members to the Council. At that time, other UGC institutions had completed the reorganization of their Councils which were roughly along the direction of the CUHK 2009 proposal. At that time the student union and the University failed to reach a consensus over the method of forming student members and reserved items, and the proposal was not approved.
In 2016, the University established another Taskforce to review the size and composition of the Council, and a fine-tuned plan was proposed after the consultation, that the number of Council member increased to 29, which is still within 30 seats. As for the current proposal proposed by the three Legislative Council members, three areas are different from the 2016 proposal: 1) addition of a Vice-Chairman of the council which, like the chairman, will be directly appointed by the supervisor of the university (that is, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region); 2) in addition to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, the number of Council members appointed by the university supervisor will increase from three to six; 3) the number of elected members of the Legislative Council will increase from two to three. As a result, the number of external members of the Council will increase by five, while the number of internal members and the method of formation remain unchanged. The overall number of board members will increase to 34.
The composition of the Council is related to the long-term governance of CUHK and has a profound impact on the development of the University. Here we urge colleagues to actively participate in the consultation. We also welcome colleagues to send us your opinions to cuegu@cuhk.edu.hk .
The Chinese University of Hong Kong Employees General Union
Feb 20, 2023
