Hong Kong as an education hub? Think tank proposes boosting non-local student population in universities to 50%, focus on Asean talent

Think tank Our Hong Kong Foundation admits move may see surge in mainlanders to institutions, but argues city’s global image in long run unaffected

Suggestion is among nine measures raised to attract non-local undergraduates and tackle labour shortfall

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CUHK students celebrate their graduation. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 4:04pm, 4 Sep 2023Updated: 1:39pm, 30 Sep 2024

The proportion of non-local undergraduates in Hong Kong’s universities should be increased from the current 20 per cent to 50 per cent with a focus on recruiting Asean talent to transform the city into a global education hub, a think tank has suggested.

Our Hong Kong Foundation acknowledged that the move might attract more mainland Chinese students to local universities in the short term, but argued this would not undermine the city’s international status in the long run.

The foundation, established by former city leader Tung Chee-hwa, put forward nine recommendations on Monday to make Hong Kong more attractive to non-local students and, more importantly, to tackle a labour shortfall. The number of workers in the city dropped by 140,000 from 2020 to 2022.

The proposals, ranging from amplifying the drive for young people to further their studies in the city to measures to retain talent, were made after consulting more than 40 stakeholders, including university deans and education service providers, the think tank said.

One of the recommendations involves adjusting the cap on non-local students in the eight publicly funded universities – from 20 per cent to 50 per cent for both degree and sub-degree levels.

The University Grants Committee (UGC), an advisory body responsible for funding, had earlier proposed doubling the same demographic in the 2024-25 academic year, from 20 per cent to 40 per cent.

The University Grants Committee had earlier proposed doubling the proportion of non-local students at institutions. Photo: May Tse

Tuition fees for non-local undergraduates at subsidised institutions cost about HK$120,000 to HK$180,000 (US$15,293 to US$22,940) per year. In comparison, those for local undergraduates stood at HK$42,000.