5 Hong Kong public schools face closure for failing to meet enrolment quota
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Only 43,755 students signed up for Primary 1 classes in government and aided primary schools for the next academic year.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Five public schools in Hong Kong face closure after failing to enrol the minimum number of students to run even a single Primary 1 class.
At least 16 students need to be enrolled for a class to run, according to a report in the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
It was previously reported that only one school had failed to meet the requirement.
The five schools may close in three years’ time when the Education Bureau stops subsidising them, two principals who are not connected to the schools told SCMP on the condition of anonymity.
There was no confirmation from a spokesman from the bureau on whether the five schools had failed to enrol enough students for Primary 1 classes.
However, the spokesman said the bureau would comment after considering replies from the school operators.
Only 43,755 students signed up for Primary 1 classes in government and aided primary schools for the next academic year.
This is the lowest figure in the past 12 years, according to SCMP.
Official data showed there would be a 10 per cent drop in the number of six-year-olds – who would generally enter Primary 1 – in the next three years.
Private schools have not been spared either.
A top private institution in Kowloon, Tak Nga Primary School, announced in March that it is ceasing operations in the 2024-2025 academic year. It said it would eventually close in 2028.
The school would be the first campus in Hong Kong to shut due to the lack of enrolment as a result of a falling birth rate and recent emigration wave.
Earlier in April, SCMP reported that four international education organisations had been warned that they would face termination.
They, too, had failed to meet a minimum requirement – in this case, having an enrolment of 70 per cent non-local students.
Hong Kong’s birth rate is one of the lowest in the world. The city also has an ageing population.
Government efforts to raise the birth rate, including tax relief and financial inducements, have borne little fruit.
The issue has been made worse by an outflow of residents and foreigners. Their exit has been driven by the Covid-19 pandemic and the government’s crackdown on dissent.
