The First Six Years 1963-69

this need by becoming an exciting model for other developing institutions in Asia to emulate. The achievements to date ， at least ， hold great promise for the future. Department o f Extramural Studies No matter how young a university is ， it must strive to be a member o f the world o f learning. I t must also serve its community to the best o f its ab ility. The interaction between the university and v ita l sectors o f the community plays an important part in academic as well as social progress. I f the society changes too slowly ， the university must assume the in itia tive ; i f the university is too slow in responding to social needs ， the society must stimulate the ad ditional impetus needed. H igh on the list o f the in itia l objectives adopted by The Chinese University are the attainment o f broad international ties and the establishment o f close identity w ith the community. These objectives automatically ensure against the University's becoming an insular institution which would eventually wither in its own rarefied academic atmosphere. The Chinese University serves the community through its various research centres and their re search projects ， its various faculties and their active participation in community affairs and the direct participation o f its ind ividua l staff members on various committees and bodies. One o f the most significant links between the University and the community is the Department o f Extramural Studies. Over the last several centuries ， educational policy has been based on the assumption that an ind ividua l should acquire in his youth the bulk o f the knowledge and skill required for h im to live adequately throughout his adult life. Accordingly, our educational effort has been concentrated almost exclusively on youth. Universal educational thought today ， however ， recognizes a different pre mise, i.e., that adults as well as children must continue to learn i f they are to keep pace w ith the rapid technological changes which characterize our modern world. Learning, like breathing, is an essential requirement o f living. The concept o f adult education is in itself not new. In ancient times organized education was for adults ， not youth. Most o f the great teachers in history such as Confucius, the Hebrew prophets ， Aristotle, Plato and Jesus devoted their energies not to the develop ment o f the immature ， bu t rather to the improvement o f the mature man. The current precept that learning is a lifelong process is based on a new fact o f life: the accelerating pace o f social change. For the 65