International schools in Hong Kong lose 12 per cent of non-local students in 4 years
- At Legco meeting on enrolment figures at 54 international schools, lawmaker Chu Kwok-keung warns they are taking students away from local institutions
- But Secretary for Education Christine Choi says enrolment numbers are affected by host of factors
The number of non-local students studying at international schools in Hong Kong has fallen by nearly 12 per cent in the last four years, according to education authorities, who have reiterated that operators may lose their contracts if they fail to meet the required threshold for enrolment.
At a Legislative Council meeting on Monday, the Education Bureau also dismissed the concerns of a lawmaker that the changes in enrolment levels had indirectly led local schools to slash classes or even cease operation.
“After receiving the warning letters, the international schools still continued to violate the rules. I would like to ask the secretary [for education], what else can you do besides issuing the warning letter?” Chu said.
“International schools and local schools are both affected by the decline in the school-age population. The current situation is that the international schools can fill the vacancies with local students, meaning they transfer the enrolment difficulties to local schools, and even cause shrinking classes and the axing of schools.”
If the only penalty they faced was a letter, they could continue to violate the rules with relative impunity, he argued.
