Exclusive | Bringing in more mainland Chinese pupils not an option for Hong Kong public schools battling shrinking intakes: education chief
- Shrinking population is hitting schools, but education minister Christine Choi says opening them to mainlanders is not the answer
- Schools that cannot attract enough pupils should consider merging, not insist on survival, she adds
Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin told the Post there was no plan to allow public schools to take in non-Hongkongers other than those born in the city or who arrived with their parents under various talent schemes.
She dismissed a recent call by a primary school sector representative who suggested allowing public schools to take in more children from mainland China.
Veteran educator So Ping-fai, chairman of Hong Kong’s Subsidised Primary Schools Council, had said the move would help institutions facing dwindling enrolments to avoid having to merge or shut down.
But Choi made it clear authorities would not allow an increase in mainland children to make up for the shortage.
“We are not aiming to turn our primary schools into commodities,” she said. “Once we open up, all non-local students will be from the mainland, is that our aim?”
