In early 1988, the Government set up a preparatory committee to entrust social leaders and leaders in the education sector to establish the Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong. The goals were to recruit a large number of students within one and a half years and provide various accredited undergraduate programmes with sufficient teaching facilities and staff. Also, the Institute would become financially independent and self-financing after four years.

In 1989, the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the two polytechnics and the Baptist College combined had a total of 6,400 undergraduate places for enrolling about 10% of applicants. At that time, the Government decided to raise the rate of school leavers going on to university study from 6% to 18%, but this target was not reached until 1994–95 due to limitations in buildings, teachers and other facilities. The newly founded University of Science and Technology project, despite hard work, took five years to register its first cohort of 700 students.

政府在1988年初成立籌備委員會，委託社會領袖和教育界翹楚，全速創辦公開進修學院，目標要在一年半內招收大量學生，提供各種認可水平的學位課程；校方要備齊教學設施和充足人手，並在四年之後財政獨立，自負盈虧。

當年，香港大學、香港中文大學、香港理工學院、香港城市理工學院和浸會學院合共取錄約6,400名新生攻讀學士課程，取錄率約10﹪，全港適齡學生只有6﹪獲本地大學學位。當局決定大幅增加大學本科學位，但受空間、人才和硬件所限，要到1994/95學年才能提高入學率至18﹪。1986年籌備的香港科技大學，也要在五年後方可錄取七百名新生。

of the applicants (around 6,400) actually

enrolled in an undergraduate programme

只有10%的申請人（大約6,400名）

獲取錄入讀本科課程。

Only

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