https://www.scmp.com/rss/522211/feed The latest news and top stories on Hong Kong’s Education Bureau. A prominent Hong Kong-based governmental department, the Education Bureau is dedicated to formulating and implementing education policies across all levels from pre-primary to tertiary. Located at the Central Government Offices, its main areas of focus include curriculum development, teacher professional development, school administration and student support. The Bureau regulates the educational system, ensuring quality and... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial The mental health problems faced by Hong Kong’s young show no signs of abating despite new policies and programmes. Government figures presented to lawmakers last week highlight the alarming extent of the problem. Education authorities revealed the number of secondary school pupils diagnosed with mental illness had more than doubled over the last five academic years, with a 54 per cent increase in primary schools. A positive view, as education minister Christine Choi Yuk-lin said, is that the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3350678/hong-kong-should-do-everything-possible-youth-mental-health?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3350678/hong-kong-should-do-everything-possible-youth-mental-health?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Apr 2026 23:15:09 +0000 Alice Wu Alice Wu Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu visited one of the schools offering free after-school care for low-income families last month. After receiving positive feedback from participants, he pledged to extend the programme to benefit more families. Lee said it had helped promote family harmony, with children also reporting “positive development in both academic and social aspects”. There’s little doubt we should celebrate victories, however small, but it is equally important to examine... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3349609/education-equality-hong-kong-policymakers-must-do-their-homework?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3349609/education-equality-hong-kong-policymakers-must-do-their-homework?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Alice Wu Alice Wu Hong Kong has ambitious plans to become an international higher education hub. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced as much in his policy address. We are home to top-ranked universities, and the plan seems on track. But are we really preparing our children for these education ambitions? Are we equipping them to join our top-ranked universities? If you ask those running our secondary schools – more specifically, subsidised schools – they would probably say we aren’t doing enough. The... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3341053/be-education-hub-hong-kong-must-first-do-better-its-children?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3341053/be-education-hub-hong-kong-must-first-do-better-its-children?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jan 2026 01:30:14 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial New revelations about how widespread AI use is among Hong Kong students must be a wake-up call for the city. While the Education Bureau has been looking into curriculum changes, the research highlights the need for a more comprehensive and centralised approach to AI use in schools. Our Hong Kong Foundation said this month that it found 95 per cent of students use the technology. Nearly one in four admitted they struggle to finish homework without artificial intelligence, according to a survey... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3340988/hong-kong-needs-centralised-ai-curriculum-its-students?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3340988/hong-kong-needs-centralised-ai-curriculum-its-students?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Jan 2026 22:45:08 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial Despite growing cross-border integration, maintaining biliteracy and trilingualism continues to set Hong Kong apart from the rest of the country under “one country, two systems”. Embedded into the local education policy, the emphasis on learning English, Mandarin and Cantonese is as much an integral part of the city’s cultural identity as it is the formula for success in connecting with the mainland and the world. The policy is based on historical development and actual needs and has been... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3334508/both-traditional-and-simplified-chinese-have-value-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3334508/both-traditional-and-simplified-chinese-have-value-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Nov 2025 22:45:08 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial The disruption of school life by Covid-19 pandemic control measures took a heavy toll on education. It was reflected by a fall in standards of proficiency in a number of subjects that continued after the measures were lifted. Thankfully, standards seem to have stabilised and, in some cases, to have begun rebounding. Evidence of this is to be found in the latest annual Territory-wide System Assessment conducted by education authorities earlier this year. A case in point is the proficiency in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3333911/rebound-hong-kong-pupils-english-proficiency-encouraging?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3333911/rebound-hong-kong-pupils-english-proficiency-encouraging?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 23:15:15 +0000 Edith Lin Edith Lin Hong Kong authorities plan to encourage private urban renewal by relaxing plot ratio restrictions as part of proposals to increase development potential in old districts and new towns, with measures to be introduced in the first half of next year. The Development Bureau on Friday revealed details of the measures announced last month in the policy address, aimed at providing more incentives for private developers to undertake urban redevelopment projects. “[Redevelopment] may still be hampered by... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3328579/hong-kong-relax-plot-ratio-rules-encourage-private-urban-renewal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3328579/hong-kong-relax-plot-ratio-rules-encourage-private-urban-renewal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Oct 2025 11:22:12 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong A Hong Kong mother has sued a primary school and education authorities for HK$2.95 million (US$378,200) in damages, claiming her autistic son underwent “inhumane” treatment before being arbitrarily barred from attending classes. She filed the lawsuit at the District Court on Thursday alleging that Yaumati Kaifong Association School had deprived her 10-year-old son of educational opportunities and mistreated him by locking him up in a room for several hours on multiple occasions. She also took... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3327068/hong-kong-mother-sues-school-education-bureau-allegedly-mistreating-autistic-son?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3327068/hong-kong-mother-sues-school-education-bureau-allegedly-mistreating-autistic-son?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Sep 2025 03:19:38 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial The sweeping reforms that Hong Kong’s education sector has undergone in recent years are a reality with which we must reckon. In yet another major change, a new practising certification system for teachers has been proposed by the government to ensure that they are “fit and proper persons [for the job], thus upholding the professionalism of the teaching force”. Given the scale of the impact and the sensitivity involved, it is important that the stakeholders are engaged in the decision-making... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3326485/teacher-certification-system-must-be-handled-sensitivity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3326485/teacher-certification-system-must-be-handled-sensitivity?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Sep 2025 23:15:08 +0000 Enoch Yiu Enoch Yiu A court case has thrust the financial practices of Hong Kong’s international schools into the spotlight, prompting fresh scrutiny of how they raise funds with debentures and capital levies. On Wednesday, the US-based Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), which co-founded the Hong Kong International School (HKIS), said it would sue the school’s operator for allegedly breaching an operational agreement, accusing the institution of serving only the “rich and privileged few” and amassing excessive... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3325387/hong-kong-international-schools-debentures-and-capital-levies-how-do-they-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3325387/hong-kong-international-schools-debentures-and-capital-levies-how-do-they-work?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Sep 2025 01:03:55 +0000 William Yiu William Yiu Hong Kong education authorities will not process “at this stage” an application by a US-based church to set up a new international school to replace a top institution being sued for allegedly only serving the “rich”, due to the ongoing legal proceedings. The Education Bureau on Friday told the Post that it had already received the application from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) to establish a new school. The church has threatened to evict Hong Kong International School (HKIS), which... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3325350/churchs-bid-replace-hkis-new-school-put-hold-education-bureau?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3325350/churchs-bid-replace-hkis-new-school-put-hold-education-bureau?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Sep 2025 09:47:05 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial The growing popularity of Hong Kong’s university entrance exam among mainland students seeking higher learning bolsters the city’s ambition to become an education hub. It has also nurtured a booming lucrative industry across the border that warrants closer oversight. A Post report found that the curriculum for the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exam was available in at least 72 schools and four tutorial centres in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhejiang and Jiangsu. Among them,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3321680/dse-needs-oversight-ensure-growth-popularity-remains-healthy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3321680/dse-needs-oversight-ensure-growth-popularity-remains-healthy?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Aug 2025 22:45:08 +0000