LCQ8: Coping with decline in school-age population
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Question:
It has been reported that in recent years the population of school-age children has seen a structural decline, and the Education Bureau recently announced that 15 government and aided primary schools were allocated fewer than 16 students under the Primary One Admission System and will therefore not be subsidised to operate Primary One (P1) classes in the 2026-2027 school year (commonly known as being "allocated zero classes"), a figure that has reached a record high in recent years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of students who actually applied, were admitted and ultimately registered at each of the aforementioned 15 primary schools in the two stages of "Discretionary Places Admission" and "Central Allocation" for the 2026-2027 school year;
(2) of the number of primary schools allocated zero classes each year and the number of schools repeatedly allocated zero classes over the past five school years (i.e. from the 2021-2022 school year to the 2025-2026 school year), with a breakdown by the 18 districts across the territory;
(3) on the premise of not adjusting school nets, how the Education Bureau will address the structural problem of schools being allocated zero classes due to a surplus of school places in certain districts;
(4) given that the Education Bureau has further enhanced the measures under the school merger option, under which a merged school may, within the first three school years after the merger, be granted a one-off exemption to unconditionally participate in the following year's P1 allocation if it fails for the first time to secure sufficient enrolment and is not approved to operate a P1 class ("the exemption arrangement"), yet there are views pointing out that certain schools operated by a single-school sponsoring body have difficulty finding merger partners and are therefore unable to benefit from the option, of the policy measures the Education Bureau has put in place to support such schools; apart from the one-off exemption arrangement provided under the option, of the other measures the Education Bureau has put in place to support merged schools and facilitate the "upgrading through merger" of schools so as to prevent them from encountering insufficient enrolment again;
(5) of the measures the Education Bureau has put in place to safeguard students' well-being in the process of promoting school mergers;
(6) given that some members of the sector have suggested allowing government primary schools to merge with aided primary schools as a way to address the problem of insufficient enrolment, whether the Education Bureau has currently commenced relevant policy research; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(7) given that there are views that the Government could relax the restrictions to allow aided primary schools to admit non-local students in order to cope with the declining school-age population, whether the Education Bureau has commenced relevant policy research; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(8) in order to alleviate parents' concerns and anxieties, whether the Education Bureau will require schools that have been allocated zero classes and schools intending to undergo mergers to disclose key information to stakeholders, such as the implementation timetable (including the consultation period, decision-making period and school transfer arrangements); whether it will regularly publish projected data on schools in each district that are at risk of being allocated zero classes or having classes reduced, so as to enable parents to make early planning for school selection?
Reply:
President,
Our reply to the Hon Tang Fei's question is as follows:
(1) Under the existing mechanism of Primary One Admission (POA) System, the Education Bureau (EDB) will decide the number of Primary One (P1) classes that a school may operate based on the total number of students allocated to a school under POA, including the number of students admitted by a school during the Discretionary Places Admission stage and the estimated number of students to be allocated to a school through computer analysis of the choices made by parents during the Central Allocation stage. If the total number of students allocated is fewer than 16 and there are still unfilled places in other schools of the same school net under POA, the school, in principle, will not be allowed to operate subsidised P1 classes unless there are special factors for consideration. For the 15 schools which did not obtain approval to operate subsidised P1 classes in the 2026/27 school year, the numbers of students allocated to them are all fewer than 16. To avoid unnecessary labelling on schools, it is not the practice of the EDB to publicise the number of students allocated to individual schools during the Discretionary Places Admission stage and the Central Allocation stage.
(2) In the 2021/22 and 2022/23 school years, no public sector primary schools failed to secure approval to operate a subsidised P1 class. From the 2023/24 to 2025/26 school years, the number of public sector primary schools which did not obtain approval to operate any subsidised P1 classes in each district is tabulated below. Among them, no public sector primary schools failed to secure approval to operate any subsidised P1 classes more than once.
| District | 2023/24 school year | 2024/25 school year | 2025/26 school year |
| Central & Western | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Wan Chai | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eastern | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Southern | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sham Shui Po | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yau Tsim Mong | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kowloon City | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wong Tai Sin | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Kwun Tong | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tsuen Wan | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tuen Mun | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yuen Long | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| North | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tai Po | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sha Tin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sai Kung | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Islands | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kwai Tsing | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| All districts | 5 | 1 | 2 |
(3) to (5) In view of the ongoing trend of structural decline in the school-age population, the EDB must take timely and appropriate actions to reduce the surplus of school places by various means in the planning for the supply of school places. This includes ceasing to operate, as planned, four time-limited primary schools and actively encouraging School Sponsoring Bodies (SSBs) to relocate public sector schools through fair and competitive School Allocation Exercises from districts with surplus of school places to districts with higher demand for school places or New Development Areas (NDAs). This will not only meet the demand for school places in NDAs, but also balance the supply of school places among districts and help create a stable education environment to achieve a win-win situation.
The EDB has been encouraging SSBs and schools to act according to the circumstances, prepare ahead by taking into consideration the overall situation of Hong Kong, and the district and school circumstances, in order to plan for and formulate the direction most suitable for schools' long-term development as early as possible to safeguard the interest of student learning. Therefore, apart from the above measures, the EDB has, for the first time, opened up certain options, in the EDB Circular No. 1/2025, for all aided primary schools (regardless of their number of approved P1 classes) and their SSBs to apply. Among all, all aided primary schools and their SSBs may apply for the option of "Merger with other schools". In order to facilitate the smooth implementation and transition of the approved merger, and ensure that students who need to transfer to other schools due to the merger can receive comprehensive support to adapt to the new learning environment for continuing the primary school curriculum, if a school is merged into another school so as to allow the same cohort of students to continue their primary school curriculum in the school after merger, the school operating subsidised P1 classes after merger may be granted a one-off additional allowance in the amount of at most $1 million to cover the additional expenses incurred during the merger. If, in the year(s) of merger, there are redundant teachers in the school that continues to operate P1 classes, it will be allowed to retain, for three years, the incumbent teachers on the approved teaching staff establishment related to the levels under merger of the two schools in the school year preceding the merger so that the school may have time to adjust the staff strength through natural wastage and other means.
To further support the schools approved for merger, the EDB issued an updated EDB Circular No. 1/2025 on March 17, 2026, to refine the aforementioned option "Merger with other schools". In addition to the existing measures, further facilitation is newly introduced to allow the school that continues to operate P1 classes upon the merger, within the first three school years after the commencement of merger (i.e. the transition period), can be exempted from applying for any option once if the school is not approved to operate any subsidised P1 classes under POA for the first time, and will unconditionally be allowed to participate in the coming POA cycle. The facilitation aims at ensuring that the school which continues to operate upon merger can focus on smoothening the merger and fully implement the transition plans, while catering for the needs of students who are transferred to such school due to the merger, helping them adapt to and integrate into the new school life. As always, the EDB will discuss with SSBs individual circumstances of each school and their merger proposals and provide facilitation as far as practicable in order to facilitate the smooth implementation and transition of the approved merger.
The EDB has also established the Task Force for Supporting the Development of Aided Schools (the Task Force) which is led by the directorate officer of the EDB and consisted of officers from the School Development Sections of the Regional Education Offices, as well as experienced retired principals and representatives from stakeholders. The Task Force provides professional advice on supporting public sector schools in planning the direction for their future development and to co-ordinate mergers across different SSBs to facilitate the "Merger and Upgrading", thereby assisting schools in achieving a smooth transition and sustainable development. The EDB is pleased to note that various SSBs have expressed interests in merging with schools under the other SSBs. The Task Force will continue to communicate with different SSBs and schools to gather feedback concerning the merger option for the EDB's further consideration.
Furthermore, the affected students, if necessary, may approach the EDB for placement assistance services for arranging a school place in other public sector schools to continue their study.
(6) There have been suggestions that aided primary schools could merge with government primary schools. While the EDB remains open to any merger proposals that may help address the decline in the school-age population, it is important to recognise that aided primary schools and government primary schools operate under distinct systems. Aided schools are run by various sponsoring bodies (religious, charitable or clan organisations, etc.) under the Education Regulations, the Education Ordinance, and the Codes of Aid. They are subsidised by the government, with regular teachers remunerated by the Salaries Grant, and managed by Incorporated Management Committees (IMCs)/ School Management Committees (SMCs). Government schools, on the other hand, are directly operated by the EDB and managed by the School Management Committee formed by each government school. Their administration, finance, personnel, and other related matters must comply with relevant guidelines issued by different government departments (including the Civil Service Bureau). Teachers within the establishment of government schools are civil servants and are bound by the Civil Service Regulations, the Civil Service Code, and related provisions. Given that these significant differences in management, employment systems, and modes of operation, it would be difficult to implement proposals to merge aided and government primary schools in the short term.
(7) The provision of school places in public sector schools in Hong Kong is designed to meet the schooling needs of local school-age children. It is an indisputable fact that public sector schools have undergone consolidation amid an oversupply of places in response to the declining school-age population. Nevertheless, in light of the various talent admission schemes introduced in recent years that have attracted non-local talents to work and reside in Hong Kong, their school-age children (i.e. dependants) also have schooling needs and may choose to enrol in either public or non-public sector schools. As for non-local students with student visas, they may enrol in schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) or private schools (including international schools) on a self-financing mode. Late last year, the EDB launched "DSS Expansion", which allows DSS schools to apply for increasing the number and size of classes, expanding their intake of non-local students with students visas to study on a self-financing mode. As a pilot scheme, it also marks the first step in extending the development of Hong Kong as an international education hub to basic education. The EDB will adopt a pilot approach to implement the scheme progressively and, in due course, study the strategic way forward.
(8) The actual impact on individual schools brought by the change in school-age population depends on its magnitude and the parental choices in the district concerned each year. As for the choice of schools, the EDB recommends parents to make suitable choices for their children through various means. Parents may also refer to the Primary School Profiles for information of schools (including the class structure), or visit the individual school's website for more detailed information.
The EDB has consistently encouraged schools to maintain close communication with parents and provide parents with opportunities for their involvement for better school management. Therefore, for all applications submitted by SSBs and schools to the EDB, including the representations for the proposed class structures and teaching staff establishment, as well as the implementation details and timelines for various options, SSBs and schools are required to inform and consult the key stakeholders (including teaching staff and parents), address their views and enquiries raised, and obtain the consent of the respective SSBs and IMC/SMC before submitting such applications to the EDB. To the EDB's understanding, schools not approved to operate subsidised P1 classes in the past or during the current school year have effectively implemented the aforementioned arrangements and maintained on-going communication with stakeholders including parents to finalise the details in their plans for future development.
Ends/Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Issued at HKT 16:55
Issued at HKT 16:55
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