Education minister in push to rescue secondary schools as students decline

Education chiefs expect fewer than five secondary schools to close this year after the introduction of relief measures to cope with a sharp drop in student numbers.

The minimum class size for Form One has been cut from 30 to 25 after student enrolments fell by more than 5,000 continuing a trend that has seen the tally plunge by 22,000 since 2006-07.

But education minister Eddie Ng Hak-kim, announcing the measures, said this was "merely a transitional situation".

Numbers are expected to rise steadily from 2017-18, boosted by children born in Hong Kong to mainland mothers. There had been fears that as many as 100 schools would be closed in the next four years because they failed to reach the government threshold of 51 enrolments - reduced this year from 61.

Elaborating on Ng's announcement, education officials said class sizes could in fact fall as low as 17 because a school that exceeds the number to fill its classes to capacity by as little as one student will be allowed to open another. This means that a school with 51 students - one more than needed to fill two classes - will be allowed to open another and distribute the students among the three, leaving each class with 17.

The number of children born in Hong Kong to mainland parents rose to 33,000 in 2010 and to 35,000 last year - up from 16,000 in 2006 - after which the government imposed new rules at borders and hospitals.