Number of axed Form One classes in Hong Kong increases almost threefold from previous school year
- Education Bureau says 14 Primary One and 22 Form One classes have been cut this school year
- But Hong Kong Subsidised Secondary School Council says ‘double-digit’ reduction was expected, with the decrease set to be ‘more horrible’ in the future
Hong Kong schools have lost nearly three times as many Form One classes this academic year compared to what they did during the previous one, authorities have said, with one education body blaming a falling birth rate, an emigration wave and parents choosing to send their children to private institutions overseas.
A spokeswoman for the Education Bureau on Wednesday said 14 Primary One and 22 Form One classes had been cut. The figure was based on a headcount exercise conducted at the start of the new school year in mid-September, she added.
According to government data, 15 Primary One and eight Form One classes were dropped during the previous academic year.
Lee Yi-ying, a secondary school head and treasurer at the Hong Kong Subsidised Secondary School Council, said a “double-digit” reduction in the number of classes at institutions was expected by the sector.
“We expected the decrease in the number of classes will be more horrible in the future, now it is just a start,” she said, adding the council had already realised since last October that the predicted number of Form One students was in decline.