More than 30,000 students quit Hong Kong schools, with campuses in high-income areas taking hardest knocks
- Comparison of enrolment figures from Education Bureau shows 30,515 students withdrew from schools in Hong Kong between October 2020 and September 2021
- Members of education sector call student exodus frustrating, advise authorities to implement small-class teaching
More than 30,000 students withdrew from schools in Hong Kong during the last academic year, with campuses in high-income districts hit hardest by the departures, the Post has found.
Several members of the education sector described the exodus as frustrating, adding they hoped authorities could implement small-class teaching to alleviate the triple whammy of a recent emigration wave, the coronavirus pandemic and the city’s historically low birth rate.
The Post compared Education Bureau enrolment figures for pupils from K1 to Secondary Five in October 2020 with newly released ones for the same batch of students in K2 to Secondary Six last September, the start of the current academic year.
The figures showed a total of 30,515 students had left schools in Hong Kong between October 2020 and last September, with the number of enrolled children dropping from about 810,000 to 780,000.
The data covered all government, aided and international schools, as well as institutions under the direct subsidy scheme.
About 5,000 pupils left kindergartens, while around 10,000 and 15,000 students from primary and secondary schools, respectively, were also reported to have exited.