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Chan Ho-him

A record proportion of school leavers will be offered a place at Hong Kong universities this year, amid a drop in competition as fewer students applied for spots.
Official data from the joint universities admissions body showed 37.5 per cent, or 15,642, of the more than 41,000 applicants were offered places as first-year students in publicly funded or self-financing bachelor’s degree programmes.
It was the highest percentage since 2012, when the new Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) university entrance exams were introduced.
Some 13,785 pupils secured offers involving their top three choices, 346 more than last year, the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (Jupas) said on Wednesday.
Uncertain future awaits Hong Kong graduates in a world battling coronavirus and recession
In all, 41,664 applicants will find out their offers after they are released at 9am on Thursday.
A student guidance organisation expected that with more applicants securing their preferred choice, more would stay in Hong Kong rather than head to mainland China or overseas to further their studies.
Largely due to a lower birth rate from 1994 onwards, the number of high school graduates has been declining over the past seven years, with about 3,000 fewer students taking the DSE exams this year compared to 2019.
There were also fewer Jupas applicants, as about 18,000 students achieved the minimum requirements for local undergraduate programmes, a 5.6 per cent drop from last year. About 45,000 secondary school students took the DSE exams this year.
The number of people who applied for local universities hit a record low, falling more than 35 per cent compared to 2012, the year the DSE exams replaced the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination and A-levels.

Meanwhile, about 4,353 secondary school graduates were admitted to a local subsidised associate degree or higher diploma programme – qualifications that might enable students to progress to a university undergraduate degree – both the highest percentage and highest number recorded since the DSE exams began.
Ng Po-shing, a consultant at student guidance centre Hok Yau Club, said it was natural that a higher percentage of school leavers were admitted to undergraduate programmes, given fewer eligible pupils were competing for a fixed number of around 15,000 places.
He also expected more students might choose to stay in Hong Kong, despite a surge in applications to universities elsewhere.
“With more students getting their preferred university offers, those who have also applied for universities in mainland China, Taiwan or overseas as backup choices might think twice before making a decision on whether to [leave Hong Kong],” Ng said.
Education officials to look at mass Covid-19 testing for schools
Of the seven pupils who scored perfect grades in the seven DSE subjects this year, four have been admitted to the University of Hong Kong and one to Chinese University. Some had also received offers from Cambridge and Oxford universities in Britain.
The number of students applying for law-related subjects at local universities dropped this year, with HKU’s law faculty admitting 23 high achievers who scored top grades in three or more DSE subjects.
School graduates this year had faced anti-government protests and the Covid-19 pandemic – which led to citywide class suspensions from early February and a one-month delay of the DSE exams. The release date of university offers was postponed for more than a week as a result.
Some local universities have offered more flexible arrangements for admissions, including conducting online interviews, postponing deadlines for portfolio submissions and reviewing the criteria for offers.



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Education

Record proportion of Hong Kong high school graduates to be offered spots in universities amid drop in competition

A person walks through the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in Clear Water Bay. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Secondary school students waiting to take the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exam at the Hong Kong Sze Yap Commercial and Industrial Association Wong Tai Shan Memorial College, Shek Kip Mei. 28APR20 SCMP / Winson Wong

How Hong Kong’s special-needs students overcome adversity to pursue their dreams

Mary Lam dreams of becoming a graphic designer. Photo: Handout

DSE candidate Yang Enhua plays an instrument during the press conference at Ebenezer School & Home for the Visually Impaired in Pok Fu Lam. 22JUL20 SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

Lam Ka-yan, Mary from Hong Kong Red Cross John F. Kennedy Centre, received a total score of 19 in the Diploma of Secondary Education exam this year. Photo: Handout, provided by Lam Ka-yan, Mary

HKDSE results 2020: St Paul’s top in Hong Kong for students scoring clean sweep of highest grades, as 50,000 find out how they fared

DSE candidates are receiving their results today after a year heavily disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Bloomberg

Eunice Chong Yan-ying, top scorer at Diocesan Girls' School.

Magnus To Ka-Chun (left), SHum Yuk-Ching from DBS. 22JUL20 SCMP/ Dickson Lee

Students at Lions college return to campus to collect their DSE results and discuss with their teachers, Kwai Fong. 22JUL20 SCMP/ May Tse

Ivan Ng Ho-yu, 2020 DSE top scorer at Queen's College.

Elena Yin Vermeer, top scorer at Diocesan Girls' School and "super achiever" who got 5** in eight subjects including extended maths module.

Competition for Hong Kong university spots dips as 1,100 fewer entrance exam takers meet minimum requirements

The number of university entrance exam takers in Hong Kong who met its minimum requirement this year dropped nearly 6 per cent from 2019. Photo: Handout

HKEAA hold a press conference on announcement of DSE results. 21JUL20 SCMP / Winson Wong

Applications to universities outside Hong Kong soar amid concerns over protests, looming national security law

After a year of social unrest and amid worries about the future, the number of Hong Kong students applying to universities both overseas and in mainland China has jumped significantly this year. Photo: Felix Wong

Students for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) at the Munsang College in Kowloon City. 27APR20 Photo: HANDOUT

Clashes break out as riot police charge into the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hung Hom and arrest protesters following mass exchanges of tear gas and petrol bombs. 18NOV19 SCMP / Sam Tsang

Hong Kong International Education Expo showcases 150 plus education providers from 14 countries at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. 09JUL17 SCMP / Felix Wong

News

Hong Kong


The number of graduates has been declining for years due to lower birth rates
Students this year have faced anti-government protests and the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to class suspensions and a delay in exams



The number of graduates has been declining for years due to lower birth rates, and graduates this year had faced anti-government protests and the Covid-19 pandemic.


Universities in Hong Kong

Education in Hong Kong