Hong Kong union warns that 2,500 teachers could be sacked amid declining secondary school enrolment

A teachers' group fears that 2,500 secondary school teachers could be laid off by the 2020/21 school year as the number of new pupils continues to drop.

The Professional Teachers' Union urged the Education Bureau to promise to keep the redundant teachers in government-funded secondary schools by 2020, when the number of primary school graduates is expected to grow again.

Government figures show that the number of pupils entering secondary school will decrease by 2,800 by next year to 54,100.

As of February, there were 4,400 vacant places in secondary schools across Hong Kong, with Sha Tin, Tuen Mun, Eastern, Sai Kung, Tai Po and Kwai Tsing among the most affected.

Education sector lawmaker and PTU voluntary chief executive Ip Kin-yuen said so far there were 51 secondary schools with only three Form One classes and 14 with just two. He said he was concerned that in the new school year, which starts in the coming September, more schools would join this list.

Ip said schools that admitted so-called Band 3 pupils - the worst-performing ones - were worst-hit by the decreasing number of new pupils, as many of these pupils could now enter schools that used to admit more accomplished pupils due to less competition.