‘Segregated’ schooling is holding back Hong Kong’s potential

Instead of imposing Chinese language education as a barrier, the city must adopt inclusive reforms that allow minority students to thrive

Winston Mok

Published: 9:30am, 26 Jun 2024

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Diplomacy of Secondary Education (DSE) results will be released next month. Just like the A-levels in my time and mainland China’s National Higher Education Entrance Examination or gaokao, the DSE will shape the course of lives – especially for families with limited means, for whom higher education is the only viable option to get ahead.

For many ethnic minority students, referred to as non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students by the Education Bureau, the Chinese language requirement has severely impeded educational outcomes. As a result, only one in 10 NCS students secure government-funded university enrolment via the DSE route, well below the 25 per cent for the majority population. Hong Kong’s education system clearly needs a major revamp to provide equal opportunities for NCS students.

Those from affluent backgrounds who can afford an International Baccalaureate (IB) education – the exam results of which will be released next week – have a wide range of choices. Last year, 2,275 students in Hong Kong received IB diplomas. With Hong Kong’s impressive 97.7 per cent IB pass rate, most of these students are expected to attend universities.

For those without a good command of the Chinese language, whether they be Chinese or NCS students, IB offers a way to circumvent the Chinese language requirement for applicants to universities in Hong Kong via the non-Jupas route.

However, this creates a compound inequity where affluent Chinese who can afford an IB education bypass the Chinese language requirement while NCS students who cannot afford the programme must take the DSE and be expected to demonstrate Chinese proficiency.

While NCS students have alternatives to meet Chinese language requirements such as the General Certificate of Secondary Education, it is a complex and cumbersome system with uneven policies among universities.

Students take the Chinese language exam of the DSE at a secondary school in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on April 11. Photo: Handout

Many NCS students in Hong Kong have been unable to attend good local secondary schools, where the Chinese language curriculum is too demanding. Many enrol in what used to be called “designated” schools, which were part of a policy the Education Bureau abolished in 2013. Ethnic minorities congregate in these ex-designated schools, which on a whole offer fewer opportunities for students to immerse themselves in a Chinese-speaking environment.

Consequently, ethnic minorities in Hong Kong experience segregated schooling. There are international schools for the affluent and former designated schools for the less privileged. A language policy intended for integration has ironically ended up institutionalising de facto segregation.

The system’s inequities are made starker by the student composition in our universities. Currently, the quota for non-local undergraduate students at the eight subsidised universities stands at 20 per cent, which the government is set to double starting this year. But of the approximately 15,000 government-funded university slots in total, fewer than 150 NCS students have been admitted each year via the DSE route over the past five years. This means we will be investing more than 40 times the resources on educating international students than we do on NCS students who enrol via the DSE in our universities.

11:22

Is Hong Kong’s education system failing non-ethnic Chinese children?

Among the international students in Hong Kong, some are from South Asia. Their numbers are likely to increase in the coming years. Notably, these international students are not required to demonstrate proficiency in the Chinese language.

This highlights the absurdity of imposing a Chinese language requirement on our own children – South Asians born and raised in Hong Kong – while granting exemptions to international peers who are less likely to remain in and contribute to Hong Kong after graduation.

In mainland China, as a multiethnic society, Chinese is mandatory for university entrance for all ethnic groups. This is important for nation-building. However, the mainland allows local and provincial variations of the gaokao. Moreover, university entrance requirements are adjusted for ethnic minorities in autonomous regions such as Tibet and Xinjiang.

Hong Kong has emulated some of the mainland’s policies, albeit the rigid parts instead of the more adaptive ones. Instead, Hong Kong may consider implementing affirmative admission policies for its economically disadvantaged ethnic minorities, subject to certain criteria and excluding those who can afford the IB programme or an education with the English Schools Foundation.

Eliminating the Chinese language requirement for university entrance, except for selected majors such as medicine and dentistry, is a crucial first step to forming a comprehensive strategy that supports NCS Hong Kong permanent residents.

Students head to school in Wan Chai on the first day back from summer break on September 4, 2023. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

With this approach, we must tackle systemic barriers throughout the education system, such as the de facto school segregation at the primary level. For NCS students, Chinese language education should be optional – serving as a gateway to greater success rather than a barrier.

The Chinese language requirements in Hong Kong’s university admissions operate under a tiered and inconsistent system – one for international students, another for affluent IB students and yet another for socio-economically disadvantaged NCS locals. Beneath the facade of flexible alternatives lie stringent requirements for marginalised groups. Dismantling the inequities in the polarised educational strata means implementing urgent reforms to ensure equal opportunities for all students.

This issue transcends social justice. From primary school to university admissions, NCS students face systemic disadvantages that hinder their potential. If these barriers were removed, we could see more NCS Hongkongers becoming doctors and lawyers, as well as taking up other kinds of professions.

Hong Kong has limited its own progress by not fully harnessing the capabilities of all its permanent residents. As we strive to attract international talent to our world-class universities, our foremost priority should be to ensure that all our youth, regardless of background, have the opportunity to thrive in Hong Kong.

Winston Mok, a private investor, was previously a private equity investor