Education Bureau introducing new rules as birth rate shrinks

As the birth rate continues to shrink, the Education Bureau has introduced new regulations to limit government-funded schools with low enrolment starting from the next academic year.

The bureau has predicted the population of school-aged Primary One (P1) students to decrease from 48,600 in 2025 to 37,500 in 2031, suggesting an ongoing declining trend in the school-age population.

Despite the demographic shift, the number of schools offering primary and secondary education has generally been increasing in recent years according to the bureau’s latest figures.

The new rules aim to ensure subsidised schools meet the 16-child enrolment target. Those who fails to do so, may either self-finance a class, apply a special government assessment, or merge operations with another school.

Under the these regulations, Aplichau Kaifong Primary School and Price Memorial Catholic Primary School will be among the first schools that will not offer subsidised P1 classes starting from the next academic year.