Starting in January last year, Recruit Police Constables who have completed the RPC Foundation Training Course at the Police College, including the two modules of "Psychology in Policing" and "Social Studies in Policing" jointly conducted by the Police College and OUHK, will be awarded a "Certificate in Law Enforcement and Security Management" by OUHK.

Now this accreditation arrangement has been extended to the RPC Foundation Training Course provided by the former Police Training School. OUHK has designed a "bridging course" for officers who had completed the old RPC Foundation Training Course to obtain the same certificate. The "bridging course" teaches the same modules of psychology and social studies in policing as the new RPC Foundation Training Course at the Police College, carrying a total of 15 credits. With the 15 credits exempted due to the accreditation arrangement, graduates of the "bridging course" will be awarded the certificate, which carries 30 credits.

A Council Member of OUHK, Mr Bunny Chan Chung-bun, has made a generous donation to set up an education fund for Force members, which is named after his father as "OUHK Chan Tak Education Fund". Two-thirds of the fund will subsidise officers enrolling in the "bridging course", and the rest will be available for officers enrolling in other OUHK policing courses.

The education fund officially came into being following a launching ceremony held at OUHK on January 5.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Commissioner (Management) Fung Siu-yuen pointed out that the Force, recognising the need for police officers to rise to various challenges and to provide quality services through the attainment of new knowledge, always encouraged Force members to pursue lifelong learning.

"Today, I'm very glad that our target has gained the recognition and support of the various sectors of the community. The establishment of the OUHK Chan Tak Education Fund will certainly help promote and develop the related police training courses, helping the Hong Kong Police in promoting a culture of lifelong learning", said Mr Fung.

Mr Fung went on to say that the Force had been working closely with institutes of higher education to explore, through accreditation of training courses, pathways for further studies.

"Today, the Hong Kong Police's Recruit Police Constable Foundation Training Course, both past and present, has been accredited by the Open University of Hong Kong, and will bridge related Certificate, Diploma and even Degree courses. Therefore, I find this very encouraging. On the one hand, it is recognition of the quality of police training, and on the other hand it provides a better training opportunity for police officers. Accreditation of Force training courses will assist officers in studying for and attaining higher qualifications. This certainly encourages officers to pursue continuous studies," he noted.

The bridging course has been tailor-made for those in-service police officers, who want to embark on the road to lifelong learning, according to Dr Lau Wing-kam, Programme Leader of OUHK's Law Enforcement and Security Management Programme.

Dr Lau pointed out that the bridging course would launch officers on the road to higher academic qualifications. "After obtaining the certificate, officers may proceed to study for a diploma or a bachelor's degree in social science at OUHK. An officer who has obtained the certificate will get a diploma upon attaining 30 more credits, or a bachelor's degree upon 90 more credits," he said.

The bridging course will take about one year to complete, including examinations, and instruction will take the "Part-time Face-to-face Mode", consisting of one lecture per week and one tutorial per fortnight. The fee for the bridging course is $16,000, and the OUHK Chan Tak Education Fund will subsidise an officer taking the course up to a maximum of $4,000. Details can be found on the webpage of OUHK (www.ouhk.edu.hk).

Eligible officers who enrol in the bridging course may also apply for subsidies from relevant schemes in the Force and the Government, such as the Police Welfare Fund, Reimbursement for Short Local Courses Scheme and the Course Fees Reimbursement under CSR 1010.

Interested officers may contact OUHK at 2711-2100 or Learning Development Support Centre at 2860-5831 for enquires.

Deputy Commissioner Fung Siu-yuen is delighted that the Force's effort to promote lifelong learning has gained public recognition and support