29 h. ago Hong Kong schools required to give reasons for opting out of flu jab scheme

Hong Kong authorities aim to boost the flu vaccine coverage rate for the coming year by requiring schools to provide reasons for formally opting out of an outreach programme and procure jabs for some family doctors to ensure a steady supply. The Department of Health on Monday unveiled the government’s plan to encourage more people to get flu jabs, with the latest seasonal vaccination programme to start on September 25. Dr Edwin Tsui Lok-kin, controller of the Centre for Health Protection, noted...

Politics

63 h. ago Ferry services suspended as T3 remains in force in Hong Kong for rest of Sunday

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Hong Kong readers now get 50% off their first year of subscription until September 21, 2025. Some after-school classes and ferry services have been suspended in Hong Kong after the Observatory issued the No 3 typhoon signal, which it said would remain in force for the rest of Sunday. The forecaster issued the No 3 signal at 2.40am on Sunday, as Tropical Storm...

Politics

63 h. ago T8 signal to be issued at 9.20pm as Hong Kong cancels all school classes on Monday

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Hong Kong readers now get 50% off their first year of subscription until September 21, 2025. Hong Kong will issue a No 8 typhoon signal at 9.20pm on Sunday, as Tropical Cyclone Tapah is expected to make landfall over western Guangdong the following morning, the Observatory said, with all schools suspending classes on Monday. “Tapah is expected to skirt within...

Politics

63 h. ago T8 signal issued at 9.20pm as Hong Kong cancels all school classes on Monday

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Hong Kong readers now get 50% off their first year of subscription until September 21, 2025. Hong Kong issued the No 8 typhoon signal at 9.20pm on Sunday, with Tropical Storm Tapah expected to make landfall over western Guangdong on Monday morning, the Observatory said, triggering the suspension of school classes and disrupting the start of the work week for...

Politics

3 d. ago Hong Kong tutor centres feel squeeze as mainland Chinese firms eye slice of pie

Two major mainland Chinese tutorial school operators are expanding their Hong Kong footprint, increasing the competition for local counterparts already facing challenges caused by a shrinking student population and a curriculum revamp, the Post has found. The moves by the firms come amid rising demand from mainland students to sit Hong Kong’s university entrance exams, with the surge in interest also prompting local tutorial chains to extend their operations across the border. The number of...

Politics

7 d. ago Hong Kong drama school affirms respect for Candace Chong over ‘red lines’ concern

The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) has said it respects Candace Chong Mui-ngam’s contributions and has reached out to her after the outspoken playwright accused it of censoring her remarks for an anniversary promotion drive. But the academy did not explain on Tuesday why it had refrained from publishing an interview with Chong for a social media campaign to mark its 40th anniversary this year, prompting the award-winning playwright to write an open letter. In the letter, which was...

Events

8 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

8 d. ago Hong Kong schools urged to hold abuse ‘crisis drill’, list of high

Child protection training should be added to accreditation requirements for professions covered under Hong Kong’s coming mandatory abuse reporting system, while schools should compile a list of high-risk students, an NGO and a principal have suggested. The calls were made at the start of the academic year on Monday, ahead of the city mandating 25 professions across the social welfare, education, and healthcare sectors to report suspected cases of child abuse from early next year. Under the...

Events

8 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

8 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

9 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

9 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

1 week ago Student’s operating room photo sparks Hong Kong medical school pledge on conduct

A Hong Kong medical school has pledged to strengthen measures to uphold professional conduct after an exchange student was found to have posted a photo on social media taken inside an operating theatre, with the hospital involved slamming the “inappropriate” behaviour. The remarks on Saturday by the faculty of medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) came after internet users widely circulated a post on the Chinese social media platform RedNote. The RedNote account holder claimed...

Culture

1 week ago How Hong Kong’s third medical school can reach new healthcare heights

This summer, the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM) opened in Bentonville, Arkansas, attracting attention both for its striking architecture and revolutionary ideas about medicine. The four-storey building with its angular facade is clad in earth-tone precast concrete and brass panels, reflecting the geology of the surrounding landscape and the Ozark Mountains. Unusually for such a grand project – it has a rooftop garden, reflection pond, wellness studio and gym – a local architectural...

Science

1 week 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

2 w. 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

2 w. ago Hong Kong warns schools over unauthorised courses aimed at non

Hong Kong authorities have issued letters to local schools to warn them against working with third-party agencies to offer classes for students outside the city without prior approval, as part of a crackdown on so-called shell institutions. Jeff Sze Chun-fai, the acting secretary for education, said on Sunday that the government was “seriously concerned” about reports that some schools in the city had partnered with agencies based in mainland China to offer classes that would allow students to...

Events

2 w. ago Woman, 90, killed by Hong Kong school bus in car park; driver, 72, arrested

A 90-year-old woman has been killed by a school bus in Hong Kong, with the 72-year-old driver arrested by police. Officers received a call at around 4pm on Friday that an elderly woman had been hit by a school bus in a car park at Tai Hang Tung Estate in Shek Kip Mei. She was pronounced dead at the scene after sustaining serious head injuries. Police said the female bus driver, surnamed Lun, was believed to have knocked over the pedestrian while reversing in the car park. The school bus was not...

Events

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

3 w. ago Hong Kong jobless rate rises to 3.7% as graduates, school leavers enter market

Hong Kong’s unemployment rate rose to 3.7 per cent over the past three months, with authorities partly attributing the change to university graduates entering the job market, and the construction, catering, retail and property sectors taking the biggest hits. Preliminary data released by the Census and Statistics Department on Tuesday showed that the jobless rate for the May to July period increased by 0.2 percentage points compared with the April to June figures. This marks the highest rate...

Politics