Hong Kong's Student Population is Shrinking

At least 81 Primary One classes were cut this school year

 

In the latest count, there are at least 81 fewer Primary One classes in Hong Kong's public school system. With about 25 students in each class, that means around 2,000 pupils have either emigrated, switched into the private school system, or were mainland students taking Hong Kong classes online and dropped out.

Originally back in March, the Education Bureau released a report on primary schools, saying 66 classes would be cut in the 450 public primary schools in the city.

Many children may have migrated elsewhere

A representative of local principals said he expected the drop could be even bigger next school year, as those students across the border in China may quit taking online classes at Hong Kong schools if the border remains closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Chu Wai-lam, chairman of the North District Primary School Heads Association, said his school has already received 20 percent less Primary One admission applications for the coming year.

"Moreover, if the border fails to open, some of the cross-border students who are now learning online will eventually quit school," Chu said. "So it's a double hit."

He believes it will be difficult to fill 3,000 Primary One spaces in North District for the following academic year.

The bureau released a statement noting that such a fluctuation "often reflects the overall changes in the population of school-aged students and its mobility", which includes emigration and people leaving the public school system for private ones.

Mainland students have quit online classes in HK

According to the bureau, 60,000 six-year-olds were eligible to begin Primary One this year. 

In July, official data showed more than 15,000 pupils had quit school in the 12 months leading up to October last year, a 2 percent drop in the primary and secondary school population, which was about 691,000.

Figures from the Census and Statistics Department last month showed a net outflow of about 89,200 residents since mid 2020, when Beijing imposed the new national security law.

The future of Hong Kong is shrinking day by day...