Editorial | Hong Kong must not fail pupils in need of mental health support
- The well-being of our next generation hangs in the balance unless more resources are devoted to schools
More disturbing evidence has emerged to illustrate the urgent need for the city to better support young people struggling to cope with life challenges.
A citywide survey found nearly one in four children and adolescents had at least one mental health disorder in 2023 and over 8 per cent of secondary school pupils considered suicide.
Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) researchers who did the government-commissioned survey said the results released on November 29 were “on the higher end” of troubling global trends.
Professor Sandra Chan Sau-man of the university’s department of psychiatry described the city as “very complex” and “highly stressful” for kids”.
Last Wednesday, Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin told lawmakers the number of suspected suicide cases among Hong Kong primary and secondary school pupils had increased to 31 in the first 11 months of this year.
The figure is more than double the figure recorded in the whole of 2018, before students faced pressures related to 2019 social unrest and the onset of the pandemic that closed classrooms.