Veteran educator So Ping-fai, chairman of Hong Kong’s Subsidised Primary Schools Council, had said the move would help institutions facing dwindling enrolments to avoid having to merge or shut down.

But Choi made it clear authorities would not allow an increase in mainland children to make up for the shortage.

“We are not aiming to turn our primary schools into commodities,” she said. “Once we open up, all non-local students will be from the mainland, is that our aim?”

Hongkongers would also find it unacceptable if the government offered free schooling to those not entitled to local education only to help schools survive, she added.

Children of people arriving through various immigration talent schemes were already eligible to attend local schools and she saw no reason to allow others to come on their own to attend the city’s institutions.

“If parents who are not eligible to settle in Hong Kong only send their children to study, do you think we have hostels for them? Our universities are running short of hostel places, so how can we cater to non-local primary students?” she said.

Government projections have shown that the number of children aged six will fall from 57,300 last year to 50,000 in 2029, and the number aged 12 will decline from 71,600 to 60,100 over the same period.

Schools with under-enrolment problems that opted to merge can receive HK$1 million (US$127,800). Secondary schools that merged progressively, with two schools combining their Form One level for example, will get HK$500,000 for each merged grade.

She urged school sponsoring bodies that resisted merging to ask themselves what their original aim was in running schools.

“Schools exist to take care of students and not for the sake of their own survival. Sometimes they put the cart before the horse,” she said.

“Of course, I am grateful to the many school sponsoring bodies for operating schools when Hong Kong had a baby boom in the 1960s and 1970s, but our main aim is not to protect our brand but to help students grow.”

Subsidised and government primary schools must have at least 16 children enrolling in Primary One or risk closing down after three years.

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A former secondary school principal herself, Choi said she did not think that allowing smaller class sizes would solve falling enrolments either.

She did not see the government reducing the minimum class size of 16, saying it might result in public schools having even smaller classes than those for special needs students.

“I do not see much possibility for us to give in,” she said. “Having too few students in one class is not good for their social development. Imagine students only having a few classmates and being unable to form a team or have an opposing team to play football.”

During the interview, Choi also spoke about national education in schools. She said the various programmes introduced after the 2019 social unrest, including taking students on trips to the mainland, were reaping results.

“I can now feel the national identity among students is stronger than before as they have been exposed to the country’s development after visiting the mainland,” she said.

“Now students, especially the very young ones, will stand up and sing the national anthem consciously when the national flag is raised. It shows an awareness of their own country and respect for the national flag.”

Choi said schools should not feel overwhelmed by the various national education programmes if they had deployed their staff well.

Hong Kong primary schools offered HK$1 million to merge amid declining intake

Senior secondary students began going on a compulsory mainland tour as part of the citizenship and social development core subject, introduced in 2021 with a strong focus on national security, identity, lawfulness and patriotism.

A junior secondary subject – citizenship, economics and society – offered by three-quarters of schools, has been revamped to strengthen students’ understanding of national security and their sense of national identity.

It will be introduced in the next school year starting in September.

Primary schools will teach a new humanities subject aimed at boosting patriotism next year. Replacing the general studies core subject, it will teach pupils the country’s achievements under the Chinese Communist Party and the national security legislation.

Since the 2022-2023 academic year, all universities in Hong Kong require undergraduate students to pass a national education assessment to graduate.