Applications to universities outside Hong Kong soar amid concerns over protests, looming national security law
- Applications to schools in Taiwan jump an eye-popping 69 per cent, while British, Australian schools up 50 per cent and mainland institutions see 13 per cent increase
- But students who spoke to the Post said they still preferred to remain in the city if accepted by their top choices
Thousands of secondary school graduates apply to universities in mainland China and Taiwan every year, but the latest figures show the number of applications for each has jumped significantly, by 13 and 69 per cent, respectively.
Education consultancies have also reported that the number of enquiries into popular overseas destinations such as Britain and Australia have risen by as much 50 per cent compared to last year.
There were only about 52,000 candidates who took the local university entrance Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exam this year, a record low since the new testing system was introduced in 2012, due to an ongoing drop in the number of secondary school seniors over the past decade.
Students who spoke to the Post said both the months-long protests and the proposed national security law were factors that encouraged them to apply to overseas and mainland universities, though they still preferred to study in Hong Kong if admitted to their top choices.