Hong Kong’s kindergarten sector faces a bleak future with the highest number of closures in a decade, driven by a declining birth rate and shrinking enrollment. Photo: Edmond SoAccording to the latest government budget, 29 kindergartens in Hong Kong closed before the start of the current school year. This marks the highest number of closures in over a decade. Authorities anticipate an additional 8 per cent decline in preschool enrolment for the coming year.
But the government said there was a significant 42 per cent increase in the number of newly arrived pupils aged six to 18 enrolled in the induction programme in the current school year, with the high level expected to remain in the next school year. The induction programme is managed by the Education Bureau with help from NGOs.
The number of kindergartens dropped by nearly 2.9 per cent to 980 in the current school year, sliding from 1,009 previously, according to budget estimates.
Eight were preschools joining the kindergarten education scheme, under which the government will provide subsidies to offer quality half-day service for all eligible children aged between three and six based on the number of pupils the preschools received.
The remaining 21 were private local kindergartens or non-local schools, according to the South China Morning Post’s calculations.
It was also the biggest drop in the total number of preschools in a year since data started to be made available in 2013.
The number of preschools peaked in 2019, when there were 1,049 kindergartens in the city. But over five years, 69 preschools closed down.
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According to the latest figures, the number of pupils studying in kindergartens will drop to 115,100 in the coming September, down by 8 per cent from the 125,400 this school year.
Kindergarten principal Nancy Lam Chui-ling, also vice-chairwoman of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, said the trend had discouraged people from becoming preschool teachers.
“No one wants to enter our field, which has no future. They prefer going into other sectors that can offer stable jobs and salary increases. The crux of the matter is the insufficient number of babies in Hong Kong,” she said.
The number of babies born in 2020 and 2021, who were now generally studying in K2 or K1, dropped by 19 and 14 per cent respectively compared with the preceding years.
But the worst is yet to come for the preschool sector, as the city’s newborn population dropped further to a new low from 2022 to 2024.
The decrease in pupils was also partly why the government slashed its budget for kindergartens.
According to the budget’s estimates, the projected financial provisions for the preschool sector will drop to HK$4.9 billion in 2025-26, marking a 7 per cent decrease from the current financial year, the largest cut among all sectors in the education field.
The number of primary and secondary school pupils in the coming year will only drop by about 1 per cent in comparison.
Principal Lam said the government should give preschools flexibility in using surpluses in accounts designated for half-day and full-day sessions, as the former in most schools usually recorded extra funds, while the latter always suffered from deficits.
“I just hoped the government can offer us some flexibility in spending our money as students in half-day or full-day sessions all belong to the preschool,” she said.
The latest budget revealed the number of enrolments for induction programmes for newly arrived pupils, who came from the mainland China or were non-Chinese, rose by 42 per cent in the current school year.
The number jumped from 1,040 in the 2023-24 school year to 1,500 in 2024-25, the highest since the 2016-17 period. The bureau expects 1,500 pupils will join in the next school year.
“A higher number of enrolment is estimated for the 2024-25 school year as there has been a significant increase in the number of newly arrived students enrolled for the induction programme in the first six months of the 2024-25 school year,” the Education Bureau said.
The bureau also said enrolment in summer bridging programmes for non-Chinese pupils aiming to boost their Chinese literacy also jumped by 20 per cent in the current school year, increasing from 1,363 to 1,630. It is expected to rise by a further 3 per cent in the next school year.
“The enrolment for the 2024-25 school year was higher owing to the expanded coverage and as more schools participated in the programme,” the bureau added.