- 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
Data from the Education Bureau showed the highest withdrawal rates for students were reported in Central and Western as well as Wan Chai. Photo: May TseMore than 30,000 students withdrew from schools in Hong Kong during the last academic year, with campuses in the city’s high-income districts being 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 impact of the recent emigration wave, the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the city’s historically low birth rate.
The Post compared the Education Bureau’s newly released enrolment figures of students from K1 to Secondary Five in October 2020 and students from K2 to Secondary Six last September, the start of the current academic year.
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The figures showed a total of 30,515 students had left schools in Hong Kong between October 2020 and September 2021, 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.
Among those who had departed from institutions, kindergarten pupils accounted for about 5,000 children, while about 10,000 and 15,000 students from primary and secondary schools, respectively, were also reported to have left.
According to the data, about 4,400 K2 students quit before they reached K3 in September, while Primary Four, Five as well as Secondary Four, Five recorded more students leaving in comparison to other forms.
The number of departing students made up 3.8 per cent of last year’s total enrolment figure, compared to 2.6 per cent of the total in the 2019-20 academic year, when 21,643 youngsters dropped out of schools.
Among the city’s 18 districts, the data from the bureau showed the highest withdrawal rates for students were reported in Central and Western as well as Wan Chai, reaching 11 per cent and 8 per cent respectively. Both areas also accounted for the highest median monthly household incomes in Hong Kong, reaching more than HK$52,000 (US$6,626).
Kwun Tong, which has the lowest median monthly household income at about HK$29,400, recorded the lowest rate of withdrawals at 2 per cent.
However, the drop in the overall student population led to an improvement in the city’s student-to-teacher ratio, with the figure shifting from 8.1:1 to 8:1 in preschools and increasing from 13:1 to 12.5:1 and 11:2 to 11:1 in primary and secondary schools, respectively. Members of the education sector attributed the large number of students withdrawing from schools in Hong Kong to a series of emigration waves that started in 2020.
Vu Im-fan, chairwoman of the Subsidised Primary Schools Council, said the departure of students from institutions had been brought about by the emigration trend and travel restrictions introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Schools had become frustrated with the continuous withdrawal of students over the past two years, she said, noting the education sector had no control over the issue.
Vu added that schools in the city’s wealthiest districts had suffered more due to middle-class families being able to afford the costs of relocating overseas, adding more students had left in June to prepare for the next academic year.
The chairwoman said she hoped authorities could implement small class teaching to benefit Primary One pupils, whose numbers had also declined partly because of the city’s record low birth rate.
The Post earlier reported that only 38,684 babies were registered in Hong Kong last year, the lowest figure since records became available in 1966.
Alan Yuen King-hang, the principal of S.K.H. Tang Shiu Kin Secondary School in Wan Chai, noted more junior form students had withdrawn from the campus than those from the higher grades.
Yuen said parents of younger students may have opted to withdraw their children to ensure they would pay reduced local student fees for universities in the United Kingdom after obtaining British citizenship.
A total of 20 students had left the school during the current academic year, the principal said, adding the figure was a slight increase from the previous year.
Data from several of the city’s top schools also showed the number of students withdrawing from institutions during the 2020-21 academic year had surged in comparison to the previous year.
St Paul’s Co-educational College reported that 114 students left in 2020-21, compared to 78 in 2019-20. Meanwhile, St Joseph’s College said the early exit rate for students had risen from 6.6 per cent in 2019-20 to 12.7 in 2020-21.
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A report from Good Hope School found its early exit rate rose to 13.1 per cent in 2020-21 from 8.1 per cent in 2019-20, accounting for the departure of 165 students.
But a spokeswoman for the Education Bureau said the demand for places at primary and secondary schools would also be affected by the number of school-age children in the city.
“It is anticipated that the gradual decrease in the future school-age population will not be transient but structural, and the drop will be bigger than previously estimated,” she said, adding the bureau would continue communicating with schools to implement measures to cope with changes in demand for places at institutions.