Surge in first-year entrants on first day of university term in Hong Kong
The buses are packed and hostel places limited amid a surge in first-year entrants at universities
The academic year kicked off yesterday in cramped style, with some students complaining of limited campus hostel spaces and long lines for buses, as the city's universities admitted double intakes of first-year students for the first time.
The first batch of senior secondary students joined their A-level counterparts on the first day at seven universities, including Chinese University, Baptist University, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and City University of Hong Kong.
Under the 3+3+4 system, pupils go through three years of junior secondary education and three years of senior secondary education. Those qualified to go on to university will take four years to complete standard courses.
As part of the education reform, this year saw the last batch of students take the A-level exams and the introduction of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education test, resulting in two groups of university exam entrants.
Some first-year students at Chinese University found it difficult to secure a place in university hostels.
Elly Wu Yan-ting, a student at Chinese University's constituent college, United College, said: "All my friends in Tseung Kwan O [where I live] who got into [the college] cannot get a place in the hostels."