Hong Kong schools lost 33,600 students in last academic year amid emigration wave, 10 per cent more than in 2020-21
- Official figures show total number of students who left local education system exceeded 64,000 in last two years
- But school representatives say exodus may have peaked and they expect number of departures to decrease this year
The latest official figures bring the total number of students who withdrew from the local education system in the last two years to more than 64,000. But school representatives said they believed the exodus had peaked and a smaller number would depart this year.
The Education Bureau last week released the enrolment figures of all government, aided and international schools as well as those under the direct subsidy scheme as of September 2022.
The Post compared the enrolment figures of students from Kindergarten One to Form Five in September 2021 with those from Kindergarten Two to Form Six at the start of this academic year to determine the change in population.
The calculation showed 33,604 pupils, or 4 per cent of the total student population last year, quit city schools between September 2021 and the same month in 2022.
It was a 10 per cent increase from the previous year when 30,500 pupils, or 3.6 per cent of the student population, withdrew.
The local education system lost 64,109 students over the past two academic years. Reasons for their departures included emigration, a trend that gained momentum in early 2021.