2 Hong Kong secondary schools to merge next year due to declining student population; education chief says teachers’ jobs not her priority
- Students at school in Southern district will be forced to commute to Tung Chung as two Caritas institutions merge in September 2024
- Secretary for Education Christine Choi welcomes decision, says interests of students come before ‘stability in the teaching industry’
Official data showed there would be a 16 per cent drop in the number of students aged 12, who are expected to study in Form One, falling from 71,600 in 2023 to 60,000 by 2025. Authorities predicted that not all of them would join the school place allocation system.
Caritas Charles Vath College on Friday announced that it would merge with Caritas Wu Cheng-chung Secondary School in Southern district in September of the 2024-25 academic year, with the latter moving to Tung Chung as part of the arrangement.
The move comes nearly eight months after two government schools in Sham Shui Po and Wong Tai Sin merged due to the dwindling student population.
Caritas Charles Vath College in Tung Chung, which only offers senior years from Secondary Four to Six, is under the direct subsidy scheme. Its counterpart in the Southern district is an aided institution operating Secondary One to Six and is subsidised by the government.
“Since the implementation of the new senior high school academic system in the education reform in 2012, the social function of our school as a senior high school has gradually declined ... there is an increasing demand for educational services in the Tung Chung community,” Caritas Charles Vath College said in a letter to parents.
It said it would halt admissions to Secondary Four starting this September, stressing that all students could still finish their secondary education at the school.