Hong Kong gov’t urges primary schools with low enrolment to merge as 15 risk closure

2026-03-18 - 23:32

The Hong Kong government has urged primary schools with low enrolment to merge, after 15 public schools were banned from operating Primary One classes in the coming academic year due to insufficient students. Secretary for Education Christine Choi. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Secretary for Education Christine Choi made the suggestion on RTHK on Wednesday, a day after the Education Bureau (EDB) released the results of Primary One student allocation for the 2026-27 academic year. The results showed 15 primary schools across 10 districts failed to enrol at least 16 pupils for Primary One, and therefore are at risk of closing. Of these, 14 are aided schools, and one is a government school. The Eastern District is the hardest hit, accounting for four schools. Hong Kong has seen a dwindling number of school-age children over the past 10 years, Choi said. “The government had offered multiple measures for schools [with low student enrolment] to a soft landing over the past few years... Now there is no way to retreat any more, and we have to face the matter directly, ” Choi said in Cantonese. She called on the schools with insufficient pupils to consider merging. “The merger period usually requires three years. It allows students of the same grade to finish their studies in the same school and gives schools time to iron out issues, such as the curriculum, teaching manpower, student classes, group divisions, etc,” she told RTHK. “We set up this three-year period to work around the transitional period.” Students wait on the platform of Hong Kong’s MTR in November 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. According to the EDB’s guidelines, if the total number of students allocated to a public school under the Primary One Admission System (POAS) is fewer than 16, and if there are still unfilled places in other schools in the same school net, then the school will not be allowed to run subsidised Primary One classes. As the school will not be allowed to enrol students through POAS in future, it is at risk of closure in a few years. Under a policy introduced last year, all aided schools can apply to merge with other schools. If the EDB approves a merger of two schools, during the three-year transitional period, the new school can enjoy a one-time exemption to the minimum Primary One student numbers. But if the school still cannot admit 16 pupils afterwards, it will need to close or become private. Teachers’ morale The 56-year-old Fresh Fish Traders’ School in Tai Kok Tsui is among those at risk. Some parents praised the school for its positive atmosphere and caring teachers, Tsing Tao Daily reported on Wednesday. Sze Chi-king, the school principal, told the newspaper that the teachers’ morale had been affected by the EDB’s decision. Hong Kong has seen an ageing population and a record-low number of newborn babies. Citing government statistics, local media reported in January that there were only 31,714 newborn babies registered in 2025 – a record low in the city’s history. Meanwhile, the population aged 65 and over will increase from 1.5 million in 2021 to 2.52 million in 2039, accounting for more than 30 per cent of the city’s population, according to the Health Bureau.