The Secondary School Closure Policy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: A Shift in Resources or a Catastrophe for Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64229/rm5jqn09Keywords:
School Closure Policy, Student Rights, Teacher Employment, Educational Diversity, Social EqualityAbstract
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Form 1 student population remains on the decline, with students due to drop from 58,800 to 51,500 from 2023 to 2030, down by 12.4%. In response to this "structural instead of transitional" shift in the populace, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Education Bureau in 2025 revealed that it would raise the cut-off point for vacancies of secondary school classes in two stages, from the current 25 per class to 27 students for the 2025/26 school year and then again to 29 students for the 2026/27 school year. The policy is regarded by the education sector as being the main reason for the third wave of "school closures". Legislative Council member Chu Kwok-keung states that one quarter of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region secondary schools can be closed in ten years' time. Starting with policy reform and incorporating empirical feedback from scholarships, this paper analyzes the deep impact of the school closure policy on students' rights, teachers' employment, educational diversity and social equality, and suggests structural reform proposals.
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