15 h. ago Locals will gain from Hong Kong becoming global university hub: education chief

Local students are “beneficiaries and participants” in the process of turning Hong Kong into an international higher education hub, a government minister has said, amid concerns that they will become “victims” whose interests are being undermined. Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin also told lawmakers on Friday that authorities would closely monitor the need to make further adjustments to non-local student quotas. At a meeting of the Legislative Council’s education panel, lawmaker...

Politics

49 h. ago Hong Kong preschool teachers work a median of 55 hours per week: survey

Preschool teachers work a median of 55 hours per week in Hong Kong, 12 hours more than the figure for other workers, with nearly 60 per cent wanting to quit because of exhaustion and relatively low salaries, a survey has found. The Education University of Hong Kong, which carried out the survey, called on the government to re-examine kindergarten teachers’ working conditions and welfare benefits, review a pay scale suggested by authorities to recognise the profession, and consider making it...

Politics

3 d. ago Hong Kong education minister open to international version of DSE exams

Hong Kong’s education minister has said she is open to developing an international version of the city’s university entrance exams, but details such as the implementation of electronic testing still need to be discussed. Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin told the Post in an exclusive interview that the decision to internationalise the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams could depend on the availability of resources and demand. Choi said that she had adopted an open attitude...

Politics

4 d. ago Hong Kong schools cut fewer Primary One classes after ‘boost from talent scheme’

Hong Kong schools appear to have staunched the problem of shrinking enrolment as fewer Primary One classes are being cut this year, according to official data, with the sector attributing the improvement to an influx of children of mainland Chinese talent. According to Primary School Profiles 2025 released on Monday, there are 1,569 Primary One classes in public schools this year, 12 fewer than the 1,581 in 2024. Last year, there were 26 Primary One classes fewer than in the 2023-24 school...

Politics

4 d. ago Unfinished construction works at Hong Kong school trigger safety concerns

Parents sending their children to a new Hong Kong government school with unfinished construction projects expressed safety concerns on the first day of the new academic year on Monday, with the principal saying it was currently unclear when the works would be finished. Families also raised concerns about poor transport connections for Erudite Government Primary School, which is located in a new development area on Anderson Road in Kwun Tong district and started running classes this month. The...

Politics

5 d. ago 170 Hong Kong schools to offer extra languages under HK$250,000 subsidy scheme

About 170 Hong Kong secondary schools will offer Japanese, Korean, French or other languages as electives for junior form students under a pilot scheme providing each institution with HK$250,000 (US$32,000) in subsidies over the next two academic years. An education sector representative said Japanese was a popular option among schools applying because its similarities to Chinese could make it easier for students to learn. In a reply to the Post, the Education Bureau said that about 170...

Politics

5 d. ago 20% of Hong Kong secondary students face depression, anxiety and stress: study

About 20 per cent of Hong Kong secondary school students showed moderate to severe depression, anxiety and stress according to a survey, prompting experts to recommend training pupils in peer emotional support ahead of the new academic year. The Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service announced the findings of its study on Sunday, after interviewing over 1,800 secondary school students between November and March. The proportion of students experiencing moderate to very severe levels of stress rose from...

Politics

5 d. ago Mark anniversary of Chinese victory over Japan, Hong Kong minister urges schools

Hong Kong’s education minister has asked schools to hold events to mark the 80th anniversary of China’s World War II victory over Japan in the new academic year, while urging kindergartens to take the opportunity to instil patriotism in pupils. In a social media post on Sunday, Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin shared two letters that were sent separately to local schools and kindergartens on Friday. “I encourage schools to arrange commemorative and learning activities to deepen...

Politics

7 d. ago University of Hong Kong business school looks at taking bitcoin for payments

The business school of Hong Kong’s oldest university is exploring the use of digital currencies for tuition payments and donations. The move by the business school of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) comes as the city seeks to balance its aspirations as a virtual asset hub with the need to minimise financial risks, with the Stablecoins Ordinance having come into effect on August 1. Professor Cai Hongbin, dean of the business and economics faculty at HKU, called for support for the initiative at...

Economics

9 d. ago Australia issues lowest number of student visas for Hongkongers in 20 years. Why?

Australia issued only 2,600 student visas for Hongkongers pursuing higher education in the 2024-25 financial year, the lowest number in two decades and following a spike in approvals when the country rolled out a bespoke “study-to-emigrate” pathway in 2022-23. An overseas education consultant specialising in Australia said the decline was due to Hong Kong offering a growing number of tertiary education spots in the city. The trend was uncovered in the latest figures from Australia’s Department...

Politics

1 week ago Private DSE candidates’ marks will not affect Hong Kong pupil scores: exam body

The performance of private candidates sitting Hong Kong’s university entrance exams will not affect the chances of pupils achieving top scores, authorities have said, after the Post found significant improvements in non-school takers’ grades over the past two years. The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority’s remarks on Tuesday were accompanied by comprehensive data on top achievers in three core subjects of the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) for the last two years. The...

Politics

1 week ago Alumni, politicians gather for Hong Kong vigil of ‘Father of Shue Yan’ Henry Hu

Students and political heavyweights have gathered to pay tribute to Hong Kong veteran educator Henry Hu Hung-lick, with alumni recalling fond memories and lessons learned from the co-founder of Shue Yan University. The Tuesday evening vigil was organised by Shue Yan University, a tertiary institution founded in 1971 by Hu and his late wife, Chung Chi-yung. A funeral will take place on Wednesday for the educator, who died last month at the age of 105. Among those attending the service were the...

Politics

1 week ago Internationalise Hong Kong’s DSE to help turn city into education hub: lawmakers

Hong Kong’s university entrance exam should be internationalised to help turn the city into a global tertiary education hub, several lawmakers have suggested ahead of the annual policy address next month, arguing the move will not harm local students’ interests. The legislators also called for the establishment of more Diploma for Secondary Education (DSE) exam centres outside Hong Kong. Other suggestions included awarding non-local DSE students “bonus points” under the admission process for...

Society

2 w. ago Hong Kong student in app creation saga to voluntarily return awards: parents

The parents of a Hong Kong student at the centre of an academic integrity controversy have said their daughter will voluntarily return all the awards associated with an app she is credited with inventing, as they apologised for the disturbance caused to the public. But they also hit out at the “relentless” cyberbullying suffered by their 16-year-old daughter, who was “on the brink of a breakdown”. Ronnie Poon Tung-ping and Roberta Pang Wen-chi, parents of a Form Four student from St Paul’s...

Society

2 w. ago Hong Kong lawmakers urge more teacher training to spot serious child abuse cases

Teachers should be given more training to identify serious child abuse cases, Hong Kong lawmakers and a school representative have urged, after education authorities updated guidelines that mandate reporting of suspected incidents from next year. According to an Education Bureau circular issued on Wednesday, educators, social workers, therapists and psychologists working in Hong Kong schools must make a report if they suspect that a child is suffering serious harm. The policy will come into...

Society

2 w. ago Hong Kong urged to quickly adopt residency rule for subsidised university spots

Hong Kong should immediately introduce a residency period for subsidised university degree places instead of gradually implementing it over two years, to prevent the dependants of non-local talent from exploiting the transition, a concern group has said. The call was issued in a petition from the Hong Kong Local Students Rights Concern Group, but was dismissed by the Education Bureau on Wednesday night, with authorities arguing it would take time to prepare for the city’s university entrance...

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong authorities and HKUST deny claim of winning bid for new medical school

The Hong Kong government and a university have denied a claim made by a major private education chain that the tertiary institution had won the bidding process to operate the city’s third medical school, calling the statement groundless. They weighed in on Monday after Beacon College posted a clip to social media saying that “reliable sources” had indicated authorities would announce in the policy address on September 17 that the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) had been...

Culture

2 w. ago CY Leung urges Hong Kong talent scheme transparency amid estimated 60,000 renewals

Former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying has urged the government to disclose data regarding its talent policy to address public concerns over the short- and long-term impact on the city’s capacity, warning the number of professionals opting to renew their visas could be as high as 60,000. A think tank also said on Monday, following Leung’s appeal a day before, that authorities should review the talent schemes and ensure they align with long-term local workforce demands. Leung said it was natural...

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong sets up inspection team to tackle illegal tutorial centre operations

An inspection task force will be established in Hong Kong to crack down on unauthorised collaboration between schools and tutorial centres, the education minister has revealed, following accusations that a Shenzhen-based centre offered classes for the city’s university entrance examination without approval. Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin said in a media interview on Monday that she expected the task force, which will conduct random inspections, to improve quality control and...

Events

2 w. ago Hong Kong cancels all rainstorm warnings less than 2 hours after class suspensions

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. Hong Kong education authorities suspended all morning and whole-day classes on Monday due to squally thunderstorms, but the weather forecaster cancelled all rainstorm warnings less than two hours later. The Hong Kong Observatory cancelled an amber warning at 7.20am, more than an hour after...

Events