Hundreds of Hong Kong schools report student withdrawals, with pandemic and instability cited as possible reasons
- Some 97 per cent of schools surveyed report students withdrawing, with dozens saying more than 20 pupils had left
- Schools report departing students planned to further their studies either on the mainland or overseas
More than 95 per cent of some 230 Hong Kong schools polled have reported cases of students withdrawing over the past few months, with most furthering their studies in mainland China or overseas.
Last year’s social unrest and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic were cited as major reasons for the withdrawals, and 70 per cent of school heads worried more students would leave if the health crisis continued, according to the city’s second-largest teachers’ union, the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, which conducted the survey.
Classes at Hong Kong’s schools have been suspended for nearly half a year since the coronavirus pandemic erupted in early February, only briefly resuming for one month before the summer break.
Most schools started the new academic year earlier this month with online lessons, while face-to-face classes are expected to resume in two phases from September 23 – though not for most of the 27,000 students who live across the border on the mainland, whose travel is still subject to quarantine rules.
Among the 231 kindergartens, primary and secondary schools surveyed from September 14 to 16, some 97 per cent, or 223 institutions, said there were students who withdrew from their schools between February and September.
Among them were 20 schools that reported 21 to 50 students withdrawing during the period, while 11 schools said more than 51 pupils withdrew.
On the reasons for withdrawal, 127 schools said students who left would pursue their studies on the mainland, while 74 said departing pupils would study overseas.