LCQ7: Student enrolment situation of international schools
19.4.2023

Following is a question by the Hon Jeffrey Lam and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, in the Legislative Council today (April 19): Question: The Education Bureau has pointed out earlier on that some of the non-local students in international schools have left Hong Kong with their families to live in their places of origin due to the epidemic, resulting in the attrition rates of such students being higher than normal. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (1) of the number of international schools operating in Hong Kong, as well as the numbers of places and students in such schools (including the respective numbers and percentages of local students and overseas students) in each of the past five years, and set out the breakdown in a table; (2) of the latest number of surplus places in international schools in Hong Kong, with a tabulated breakdown by the three regions of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories; the percentage growth in the number of surplus places in international schools in each of the past three years; (3) with the full resumption of normal travel in Hong Kong, how the authorities will assess the enrolment situation of non-local students in international schools in Hong Kong in the next three years; whether the authorities will, in light of the easing of the epidemic situation, consider tightening afresh the requirements on the proportion of local students admitted by international schools; if not, of the reasons for that; and (4) of the measures the authorities plan to adopt in the coming year to support the long-term development of the international school system in Hong Kong? Reply: President, The Government is committed to developing a vibrant international school sector to meet the demand for international school places from non-local families living in Hong Kong and families coming to Hong Kong for work or investment. There are 54 international schools (including one special school) in Hong Kong. In the 2022/23 school year, these international schools, excluding the special school, provide a total of 46 253 school places and admit 40 626 students, accounting for around 87.8 per cent of the total places provided. The numbers of international schools, school places, students enrolled (local and non-local), as well as their respective percentage shares in the past five school years are tabulated as follows: School year Number of schools Number of school places (Notes 1, 2, 3) Student enrolment (Notes 1, 2, 4) Number of non-local students (its percentage in the total number of students) Number of local students (its percentage in the total number of students) Total 2018/19 54 44 864 30 345 (75.5 per cent) 9 853 (24.5 per cent) 40 198 2019/20 53 (Note 5) 46 388 30 499 (74.1 per cent) 10 634 (25.9 per cent) 41 133 2020/21 54 (Note 5) 45 857 28 801 (70.2 per cent) 12 214 (29.8 per cent) 41 015 2021/22 54 46 088 28 481 (68.6 per cent) 13 013 (31.4 per cent) 41 494 2022/23 54 46 253 26 768 (65.9 per cent) 13 858 (34.1 per cent) 40 626 Notes: (1) Figures for the 2020/21 school year refer to the position as at mid-October, and the figures for other school years refer to the position as at mid-September of the respective school years. (2) Figures do not include the special school operated by the English Schools Foundation. (3) Figures on school places refer to the planned number of places offered by the schools concerned. (4) Local students refer to those who are Hong Kong permanent residents (with the right of abode in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)) and do not have any valid passport other than HKSAR Passport. Students not covered by this definition are all regarded as non-local students. (5) An international primary school ceased operation while another international school resumed operation in 2020 after completion of refurbishment. The provision of international school places is planned on a territory-wide basis, and there are no geographical restrictions on the admission of students in international schools. Therefore, in examining the numbers of school place vacancies in international schools by district, it is not appropriate to make a direct comparison with the school net-based allocation mode for public sector schools. The numbers of vacancies in international schools by region throughout the territory and the year-on-year percentage changes in the past three years are listed in the table below: Region Number of school places Number of students enrolled Number of vacancies Number Year-on-year percentage change 2020/21 School Year Hong Kong Island 23 819 21 416 2 403 -20.9 per cent Kowloon 11 331 10 039 1 292 73.4 per cent New Territories 10 707 9 560 1 147 -22.1 per cent 2021/22 School Year Hong Kong Island 23 856 21 469 2 387 -0.7 per cent Kowloon 11 227 10 295 932 -27.9 per cent New Territories 11 005 9 730 1 275 11.2 per cent 2022/23 School Year Hong Kong Island 23 878 21 072 2 806 17.6 per cent Kowloon 11 373 10 260 1 113 19.4 per cent New Territories 11 002 9 294 1 708 34.0 per cent Notes: (1) Figures for the 2020/21 school year refer to the position as at mid-October, and the figures for other school years refer to the position as at mid-September of the respective school years. (2) Figures do not include the special school operated by the English Schools Foundation. (3) Figures on school places refer to the planned number of school places offered by the schools concerned. Amid the COVID-19 epidemic, some non-local students might have moved back to their hometowns with their families, resulting in a higher than usual dropout rate among non-local students. Nevertheless, the total number of student enrolment of international schools remained stable during the epidemic. We noted that although the proportion of local students has slightly increased, non-local students still account for around 70 per cent (65.9 per cent) of the total student population of international schools, which is far higher than that of local students (34.1 per cent). The requirement on the percentage of non-local students to be admitted only applies to the international schools operated by the English Schools Foundation and the new campuses of international schools which entered into a service agreement with the Education Bureau (EDB) upon allocation of school premises or sites since 2007. These schools/campuses were required to enrol no less than 50 per cent of non-local students, and the percentage has been raised to 70 per cent by the EDB since 2009, in accordance with the terms of the service agreements. During the epidemic over the past few years, the international school sector as well as the consuls and chambers of commerce concerned reflected to the Government the difficulties they encountered in the school operation and the wish for more flexibility concerning the admission of non-local students. The EDB acknowledged their situation, and at the same time, pointed out that international schools should provide school places to meet the needs of non-local families living in Hong Kong, and that it was of utmost importance to provide sufficient school places for non-local students after the epidemic subsided. As Hong Kong has returned to normalcy and has been actively attracting more foreign investment and talents to the territory, we expect that the number of non-local students to be admitted by international schools will increase gradually. The EDB commissions a consultancy study once every few years on the provision of international school places at primary and secondary levels in Hong Kong. When there is a projected shortfall of international school places, the Government will allocate greenfield sites or vacant school premises for international school use via the School Allocation Exercise. In the last consultancy study report released in February 2017, it was estimated that there would be no shortfall of international school places at primary and secondary levels until the 2022/23 school year. We are conducting a new round of consultancy study for projection of the provision of international school places up to the 2028/29 school year. In line with the policy of "competing for enterprises" and "competing for talents" as announced in the Chief Executive's 2022 Policy Address, the EDB will continue to closely monitor the demand and supply of international school places. While considering the sustainable development of international schools, the EDB will also take into account the demand and supply of school places in local schools.