1 in 10 Hong Kong kindergartens warn of possible closure in coming years as enrolment declines
- Kindergartens have fewer pupils due to plunging birth rate, emigration wave and absence of cross-border pupils
- More than 70 per cent of schools say they might have to fire teachers due to financial difficulties
One in 10 kindergartens in Hong Kong report they may have to close in the next two years due to the triple whammy of a plunging birth rate, an emigration wave and the absence of the cross-border pupils amid the Covid-19 pandemic, a survey has found.
More than 70 per cent of schools said they might also have to fire teachers due to financial difficulties, and the educator group that conducted the survey called on the government to extend a five-year grant issued in 2017 for a few more years.
The poll released by the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers on Monday found 68 per cent of the 235 respondents recorded a drop in the number of applications for K1, the first year of kindergarten, in September.
Hong Kong has a total of 1,042 kindergartens with nearly 160,000 pupils.
Latest government figures showed only 37,000 babies were born in 2021, 6,000 fewer than the previous record low in 2020. In 2019, about 52,900 babies were born and they were expected to be promoted to K1 in September.