Outgoing head of Education University of Hong Kong predicts number of teacher training spots will continue to drop
- Professor Stephen Cheung says increased immigration ‘almost the only way’ to deal with population decline and falling birth rates
- Cheung predicts that Singapore-style ‘baby bonuses’ would not be able to reverse the trend in city
The number of teacher training places, particularly those in early childhood services, will be further reduced amid a continued shrinkage in the pupil population, the outgoing president of the Education University of Hong Kong (EdU) has predicted.
Professor Stephen Cheung Yan-leung, 63, who has led the city’s largest teacher education institution for a decade, also appealed to the profession to steer clear of politics.
Cheung said the structural decline in the school population, because of a falling birth rate and an emigration wave, continued to affect the sector and that increased immigration appeared to be the only solution.
He added he foresaw the University Grants Committee (UGC), which allocates government money to higher education institutions, would make more cuts to the number of teacher training places, after such spots were reduced by 10 per cent for the next two academic years.
“The number of teacher education spots will probably be cut further in 2025-28. I think the early education childhood programme will surely bear the brunt [in that period],” Cheung said during an interview with media last week.
“Japan, which is also suffering from a low birth rate, also relies on new immigrants to boost the number of births. Many parents in Hong Kong were also new immigrants. Relying on immigrants is not a new thing for us. The most important thing is how policymakers implement integration well.
“Hong Kong young couples have little incentive to have babies. Even if Hong Kong implements some measures similar to Singapore to give cash incentives to parents, Hongkongers are so practical about considering having a baby,” he said.