Following is a question by the Hon Luk Chung-hung and a reply by the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, in the Legislative Council today (October 22):

Question:

     According to the data from the Education Bureau, over 130 school children committed suicide between 2020 and 2024. Furthermore, it has been reported that the number of primary and secondary students suffering from mental illness such as depression and anxiety disorders during the 2024/25 school year has significantly increased compared to five years earlier. On supporting students with suicidal risk, will the Government inform this Council: 

(1) of the respective numbers of student suicide cases and attempted suicide cases in the past three years, and among them, the numbers of students with special educational needs or suffering from depression or anxiety disorders, together with a breakdown by age group of students, including those aged 0 to 6, 7 to 12, 13 to 18, and above 18 years old; 

(2) whether it has conducted detailed studies on student suicide cases in recent years and analysed their causes; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and 

(3) as the Government has implemented the Three-tier School-based Emergency Mechanism in secondary schools since 2023 for early identification of and support for students with suicidal risk, of the number of cases currently involved in each tier of the mechanism; given that the 2025 Policy Address proposed that the mechanism will be extended on a trial basis to Primary Four to Six students, of the specific implementation timetable, and whether it will consider further extending it to lower primary students, increasing the ratio of school social workers as well as guidance and discipline teachers, while strengthening home-school collaboration?

Reply:

President,

     The Education Bureau (EDB) attaches great importance to the physical and psychological health of students, and has been proactively providing support for schools in adopting the Whole School Approach at three levels, namely Universal, Selective and Indicated, to take care of students' mental health. We also collaborate with other policy bureaux/departments and different stakeholders to promote student's whole-person development and enhance support for students with mental health needs, including those with high suicidal risk, through cross-departmental, multi-disciplinary and cross-sector collaboration, optimising curriculum, information, activities, training and professional support, etc. In consultation with the Health Bureau (HHB), the Labour and Welfare Bureau (LWB) and the Social Welfare Department (SWD), the reply to the question raised by the Hon Luk Chung-hung is as follows:

(1) and (2) The EDB has all along been requiring primary and secondary schools to report fatal suspected student suicide cases in order to provide appropriate professional support to the schools concerned. However, it is not mandatory for schools to report attempted or planned suicide cases of students, and the EDB does not collect information on fatal suspected suicide cases involving university students. In the past three years (i.e. 2022 to 2024), the number of fatal suspected student suicide cases reported by all primary and secondary schools in the territory to the EDB were 25, 32 and 28 respectively. Of the cases reported in the past three years, secondary students accounted for about 93 per cent, while primary students accounted for about seven per cent. 

     The Government set up the Committee on Prevention of Student Suicides (the Committee) in 2016 to understand the issues of student suicides comprehensively. The study of the Committee revealed that students' suicidal behaviour was attributed to the interplay of multiple factors including mental health issues, psychological factors, relationship, adjustment and academic stress. Suicide is a complicated behaviour, the reasons for each case are not the same, so we should not attribute any case to a single factor, such as special educational needs or mental illness, or simplify the reasons of suicide. 

     The Government set up a cross policy bureaux/departments Task Force on Prevention of Youth Suicides in 2017 to follow up on youth suicide issues and review the progress of implementing the recommendations put forward by the Committee, and explore the possible ways of enhancing existing measures and services. In addition, since 2013, the Child Fatality Review Panel has published six reports setting out its observations and recommendations pertaining to the child fatality cases, including suicide. The Government will conduct relevant research in an opportune time when necessary to enhance the effectiveness of the support measures. 

(3) Through cross-departmental collaboration of the EDB, the HHB, and the SWD, the Government has implemented the Three-tier School-based Emergency Mechanism (the Mechanism) in all secondary schools since December 2023. Under the first-tier of the Mechanism, the EDB provides gatekeeper training for teachers, parents, and students so as to equip them to early identify and handle students at higher suicidal risk. As at August 31, 2025, the off-campus support network teams engaged by SWD have received a total of 418 case referrals from schools under the second-tier of the Mechanism, while the Hospital Authority's psychiatry specialist services received a total of 444 referrals from principals and 173 telephone enquiries under the third-tier of the Mechanism. "The Chief Executive's 2025 Policy Address" announced that the Government would regularise the Mechanism in secondary schools and extend it on a trial basis to Primary Four to Six students. We will closely monitor the operation of the Mechanism and review the relevant arrangements of the Mechanism at an opportune time.

     Besides, starting from 2024, the EDB has been collaborating with the Hong Kong Police Force (the Police) and the SWD, upon obtaining the consent of parents/guardians, the Police will refer students who attempted suicide outside schools to receive follow-up services by the students' attending schools or appropriate social services units arranged by the SWD. To make every effort to support the students and parents/guardians concerned, the Police will provide them with information for seeking support or assistance even if the parents decline the referral. 

     For the support for students with mental health needs, schools are staffed with professionals of different disciplines, including school social workers, student guidance personnel, and school-based educational psychologists, to provide students in need with appropriate support and parents with consultation services. 

     The EDB has also implemented the "one school social worker for each school" policy in public sector primary schools since the 2018/19 school year, and provided additional grants for schools to purchase consultation, supervision or other related services to support school social workers. For secondary schools, to enhance youth's mental health and resilience, the SWD has implemented the measure of "two school social workers for each school" since the 2019/20 school year and enhanced supervisory support for handling complicated cases. The SWD has also strengthened the supporting manpower for school social work services in secondary schools across the territory since the 2021/22 school year, with a view to assisting school social workers in handling administrative work and implementing activities to enable school social workers to provide students in need with more intensive counselling and group activity services.

     In view that comprehensive student guidance and support services are provided through the Whole School Approach and cross-disciplinary collaboration, and each school has already set up a cross-disciplinary team, along with the current provision of social workers for schools, external support, and funding arrangement, ensuring that schools can deliver services with professional quality while also providing them with sufficient resources and flexibility to hire or procure additional guidance services, the Government has no plan to increase the number of school social workers. We will continue to review and strengthen school guidance services as appropriate to promote students' whole-person development. 

     Parents play a crucial role in supporting children's development and learning. The EDB has been implementing the territory-wide Positive Parent Campaign and developed the Curriculum Frameworks on Parent Education to enable parents to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills for nurturing their children in a more systematic manner. Furthermore, to help parents early identify and support their children's mental health needs, the EDB provides parent gatekeeper training and more thematic parent education programmes to share with parents ways to raise happy and positive children in a diversified mode. The EDB will continue to strengthen the synergy through cross-departmental and cross-sector collaboration, work closely with schools and parents to enhance the efforts in the promotion of student mental health.

     Thank you, President. 

Ends/Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Issued at HKT 18:05

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