Editorial | Homework needed to sort out Hong Kong’s Primary One
The number of pupils is expected to fall 23 per cent by 2031, posing a challenge for local schools that will require working together to mitigate the negative impact
The impact of Hong Kong’s restructuring has been felt widely and deeply in recent years. Just as the sluggish economy continues to take a heavy toll on businesses that fail to adapt, changing social demographics are also killing off local schools that cannot enrol enough students to qualify for government subsidies.
Expedited by a low birth rate and an intensifying emigration wave, the problem of a shrinking school-age population has no quick solutions.
Despite some government measures to mitigate the impact on under-enrolled schools, the outcome still leaves much to be desired, with an increasing number of institutions being axed or forced to merge with others.
Some 70 Primary One classes in 66 schools were scrapped last September. Two schools will not run any subsidised Primary One classes in the new academic year.
The downsizing does not bode well for survival in the long run. With the number of Primary One pupils expected to fall 23 per cent to 37,500 by 2031, the situation is worrying.
Even though the birth rate has risen and more people and their children have come in recently under talent schemes, it may take longer for school intake to increase.