Record admission rates, new low in applicant numbers at Hong Kong universities
- Education consultants say changes came as universities up offers as applicants may opt to study overseas instead
- More than 15,850 out of 39,523 applicants will be offered places on university degree courses or on early childhood education diploma at EduHK
An all-time high in admission rates was recorded at Hong Kong universities this year along with a new low in the number of applicants.
Educational consultants on Tuesday attributed the changes to a decision by academic institutions to make more offers as some students might not take up their places because they had decided to study overseas instead.
“Some institutions will give more offers than they previously stated as they noticed students may be drawn by the upwards trend of overseas studies,” said Ng Po-shing, a consultant at student guidance centre Hok Yau Club.
Ng was speaking after figures released by the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (Jupas) showed that 15,857 out of 39,523 applicants – 40.1 per cent – will be offered first year places at a publicly funded or self-financed city university or spots for a higher diploma programme in early childhood education at the Education University of Hong Kong (EduHK).
Excluding EduHK’s early childhood higher diploma course, which is expected to admit about 330 students, this year’s percentage of successful applicants for bachelor’s degree courses – around 39 per cent – is the highest since 2012.
The Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) replaced the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination and A-levels as the city’s university entrance exam that year.