Hong Kong public universities log new high in number of students who leave early as lecturers quitting higher education posts hits 25-year record
- More than 2,300 students leave courses without finishing in 2021-22, breaking previous year’s record number
- Number of lecturers who quit posts hits highest level since 1997-98
A record number of students have quit Hong Kong’s public universities since records began almost two decades ago and lecturer departures also hit new highs, officials have revealed.
The University Grants Committee (UGC), which funds higher education, said on Thursday that 2,302 undergraduate students, 2.7 per cent of the 86,000 on full-time, government funded courses, had discontinued their studies in the 2021-22 academic year.
The figure was 4 per cent higher than the previous year, which also set a record for the number of leavers from the city’s eight government-funded universities with 2,212 early departures.
The UGC said that of the 5,000 academic staff listed last year, 362 had left their posts – up by about 30 per cent on the 277 who departed the previous year and the highest figure since 1997-98.
Alan Wu Wai-kuen, a third year undergraduate and the student representative on Polytechnic University’s (PolyU) governing council, said most of those who quit the institution had moved to Britain, Canada or Australia and some had accepted a better offer from other universities in Hong Kong.