Applications to Hong Kong first-year kindergarten fall by about third
- Principals blame declining birth rate and emigration wave for drop in applications
- Forms parents required to submit to kindergartens for government subsidies also down by more than 20 per cent in five years
Kindergartens in Hong Kong have received one-third fewer applications for their K1 classes starting next September than last year due to the falling birth rate and emigration wave, according to a leading representative of the sector.
The number of applications for the “Registration Certificate for Kindergarten Admission”, which parents are required to submit to kindergartens for government subsidies, have also dropped by more than 20 per cent in five years, official data showed.
Nancy Lam Chui-ling, vice-chairwoman of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers and a kindergarten principal, said her peers heading preschools generally reported receiving about one-third fewer application forms for K1 compared with last year.
But she said the falling application number did not reflect the severity of the problem.
“This is because parents will sign up for a few kindergartens to pick from, so the actual number of registrations will definitely be even lower than the number of offers we give out to the applicants,” she said.
“The number will keep falling as people emigrate and tend not to give birth. I do not think the emigration wave will stop.”
Parents started submitting registration certificates last week to non-profit-making preschools, which need the documents to obtain subsidies from the government in the next school year.