Spark Deep Dive: Hong Kong education authorities cut Primary One classes

Two Hong Kong schools will not run any subsidised Primary One classes in the upcoming academic year. They are both located in areas with a declining school-age population.

Last month, the Education Bureau sent letters to all subsidised and government primary schools. The letters informed them about class structures and staffing arrangements for Primary One to Six over the next academic year.

Two schools, Aplichau Kaifong Primary School in Southern district and Price Memorial Catholic Primary School in Wong Tai Sin, were not given any subsidised Primary One classes for the 2025-26 academic year. They had failed to secure enough pupils.

Aplichau Kaifong Primary School was founded in 1954. It ran eight classes during the 2024-25 academic year. It had one class each for Primary One to Four and another two each for Primary Five and Six.

Price Memorial Catholic Primary School was established in 1963. It is operating 11 classes this academic year, including one each for Primary One to Three.

Currently, schools that fail to enrol enough Primary One students have three options.

The first is to privately fund a class. The second involves applying to the government for a special review, and the third is to merge with another school.

However, the bureau recently announced new rules restricting survival options for under-enrolled, government-funded schools.

Starting next year, any subsidised school that fails to meet its 16-child enrolment target will not be allowed to privately run a Primary One class if it has already done so in the past six years.

In addition, schools can no longer apply for a special review to run a Primary One class.

The bureau will also require schools that privately fund a class of pupils to continue doing so until the children finish Primary Six.

Currently, students who were privately funded at the start can receive subsidies once they reach more senior grades.

However, this was only if the school met its enrolment target for Primary One the following year.

The school sector had estimated it would cost around HK$12 million (US$1.5 million) to run one class per grade for six years.

Hong Kong’s low birth rate has put many schools at risk of closing. Education authorities have reported that the number of Primary One pupils in the city was expected to drop from 48,600 this year to 37,500 in 2031.

Staff writers

1. According to the news, which of the following are true?

(1) The number of Primary One students in Hong Kong is expected to drop.
(2) Schools with low student enrolment can apply for a special review under the new rules.
(3) It costs a lot of money for schools to run private Primary One classes.
(4) Many schools have seen an increase in student enrolment.

A. (1), (2) only
B. (1), (3) only
C. (2), (3) only
D. (3), (4) only

2. Using the news, list TWO key changes the government has announced for self-financed Primary One classes.

3. Do you agree with the education authorities’ move to cut subsidised Primary One classes for schools with low enrolment? Explain using the news, glossary and your own knowledge.

1. What is being shown in the illustration? How does it relate to the news?

2. Why are authorities cutting the number of subsidised Primary One classes in Hong Kong schools? Explain using the news, glossary and your own knowledge.

subsidised: partly paid for by the government or another organisation

merge: to combine or join together

birth rate: the number of individuals born in a population in a given amount of time. Hong Kong’s birth rate has been declining for some time. Although the number of babies born in Hong Kong reached 36,700 in 2024 – an 11 per cent jump from 2023 – the figure is still the third-lowest since data was first made available in 1961.

1. B

2. Under the new rules, schools must fully fund these classes until the cohort graduates from Primary Six, even if they later meet the enrolment requirements. Additionally, schools that fail to enrol enough students for a subsidised Primary One class can no longer apply for a special review.

3. I partially agree with the new rules, as they reflect the reality of the declining school-age population and help allocate resources efficiently. However, removing the option for a special review and requiring schools to fully fund self-financed classes increases financial pressure, leading to more closures and fewer choices for parents. While the policy may be necessary, greater flexibility and support for affected schools would help minimise disruptions for students and families. (accept all reasonable answers)

1. The single student in a dusty classroom represents the city’s shrinking student population. It illustrates the information in the news and how Hong Kong is coping with a significant decline in the number of six-year-olds expected to enrol in Primary One in the coming years.

2. Authorities are cutting the number of subsidised Primary One classes because fewer school-age children are enrolling in certain schools, and some cannot meet the minimum requirement of 16 children per class. The Education Bureau does not want to fund many classes with few students; limiting or cutting the number of classes encourages schools to merge with other institutions or find ways to enrol more students. (accept all reasonable answers)