Hong Kong public schools witness slight uptick in Form One classes, but educators say student numbers to drop in 2 years
- New figures show the number of Form One classes at government and aided schools rose to 1,498 this academic year from 1,496 in 2022-23
- ‘The expansion of S1 classes in Hong Kong will not last as the Secondary One population will record a drastic fall two years later, in 2025-26,’ educator warns
The number of Form One classes at Hong Kong public schools has seen a small increase, but educators have warned the figure reflects a record number of births more than a decade ago and will fall sharply in two years’ time.
The Committee on Home-School Cooperation on Tuesday published data showing the number of Form One classes at the city’s 387 government and aided institutions had risen from 1,496 in the 2022-23 academic year to 1,498 for the current one.
Wong Kwan-yu, the permanent honourable president of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, warned the figure was tied to the record-high 95,500 babies born in 2011.
The number later dropped to 57,100 in 2013 after then chief executive Leung Chun-ying announced a “zero-quota” policy to ban mainland Chinese women from having babies in Hong Kong.
“The small increase in the S1 classes this year was due to the high number of births 12 years ago,” he said. “The expansion of S1 classes in Hong Kong will not last as the Secondary One population will record a drastic fall two years later, in 2025-26.”
