The decision took into account the “overall development needs of government schools and utilisation of government resources”, a bureau spokesman said.

According to recently released government figures, the number of six-year-olds in Hong Kong is projected to fall by 14.5 per cent, to some 50,000, between next year and 2029. The number of 12-year-olds is expected to drop by roughly 5 per cent, to 60,100, over the same period.

The decline has been attributed to a lower birth rate and a recent wave of emigration. A government source previously told the Post that secondary schools were likely to be hit harder than primary schools in the years ahead.

Explaining the coming merger, the bureau noted that both LCGSS and KTS were formerly technical schools that offered practical and vocational education, adding that the integration of resources would provide students with a richer learning experience.

KTS was also “spacious enough” to accommodate the transfer students from LCGSS, it added.

LCGSS will stop offering Forms One and Four from next year, and will cease operations entirely in the 2024-25 school year.

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In a reply to the Post, the bureau said 390 students from 15 classes were now studying in LCGSS, with around 200 Form One to Three students to be given the option to switch to KTS or other schools in Wong Tai Sin upon promotion to senior levels.

The bureau added that teachers from LCGSS would be gradually transferred to KTS or other government schools. The LCGSS premises will be assessed to determine if the grounds are suitable for educational purposes.

The Post has reached out to both schools for comment.

Current policy dictates that secondary schools with fewer than 25 pupils in Form One have five options, going forward: merging, broadening their programmes to attract students with different needs, switching to a direct subsidy scheme, going fully private or submitting to a government review.

The Education Bureau said it hoped the LCGSS-KTS merger would “serve as a leading example for … other school-sponsoring bodies” and encourage the sector to plan ahead.

Wong Kwan-yu, president of the 35,000-strong Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, previously estimated that about 40,000 families had left the city in the past year, and dozens of local primary and secondary schools faced closure as a result of falling enrolment.

Wong said that while it would be easy for large school-sponsoring bodies or the government to merge their facilities, it would be harder for the smaller operators to do so.

“Some schools that merged before attained little effect, and they finally closed down after a few years,” he said.

Lau Chun-hung, chairman of the Hong Kong Subsidised Secondary Schools Council, agreed it was more difficult for non-government-subsidised schools to consolidate, as they were governed by different organisations.

“For mergers, it really depends on the school-sponsoring bodies and their visions for the schools,” he said.

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Lau said schools would need to come up with short- and long-term measures in conjunction with the government to address the declining student population, noting that reducing class sizes was one way out.

“The actual number of students in each class needs to be discussed with the government; we may need to see the vacancy situation of schools first,” Lau said, adding his organisation would meet the bureau after looking into the latest figures.

According to official figures, there were 3,016 Primary Five students in Wong Tai Sin district last year, and only 2,692 Primary One students. The discrepancy means that, by 2026-27, the number of Form One students in the district will be down some 10 per cent from 2022-23 levels.

Several government schools have closed down in the past and most of the students, teachers and staff were transferred to other government-run schools.

In 2006 to 2007, Sha Tau Kok Government Secondary School and New Territories Heung Yee Kuk Southern District Secondary School ceased operation. In 2009, Sheung Kwai Chung Government Secondary School closed down, while Tai Po Government Secondary School merged with N.T. Heung Yee Kuk Tai Po District Secondary School in 2011.

The subsidised Buddhist Tai Kwong Middle School merged with Buddhist Chi Hong Chi Lam Memorial College in 2009 to form Buddhist Tai Kwong Chi Hong College.