Education in Hong Kong

Education in Hong Kong is largely modelled on that of the United Kingdom, particularly the English system. It is overseen by the Education Bureau and the Social Welfare Department.

Education in Hong Kong
Education Bureau
Social Welfare Department
Secretary for Education
Director of Social Welfare		Kevin Yeung

Carol YIP
National education budget (2012/13)
BudgetHK$110.526 billion
(HK$39,420 per capita)
General details
Primary languagesEnglish and Cantonese
System typeNational
12-year Compulsory EducationSeptember 2019[1] :Chapter 1, Paragraph 1.1
Literacy (2016)
Total94.6%[2]
Primary376,300
Secondary344,600
Post secondary324,100
Attainment
Secondary diploma49%
Post-secondary diploma33.1%
Education in Hong Kong
Other Hong Kong topics
Hong Kong portal

In the 2019/20 school year, there are 587 primary schools, 504 secondary day schools, and 61 special schools.[3]

The academic year begins mid-year, usually starting in September.

History

Small village Chinese schools were observed by the British missionaries when they arrived circa 1843.[4] Anthony Sweeting believes those small village schools existed in Chek Chue (modern-day town of Stanley), Shek Pai Wan, Heung Kong Tsai (modern-day Aberdeen) and Wong Nai Chong on Hong Kong Island, although proof is no longer available.[5]

One of the earliest schools with reliable records was Li Ying College established in 1075 in present-day New Territories.[6] By 1860 Hong Kong had 20 village schools. Chinese who were wealthy did not educate their children in Hong Kong but instead sent them to major Chinese cities, such as Canton, for traditional Chinese education.[6]

The changes came with the arrival of the British in 1841. At first, Hong Kong's education came from Protestant and Catholic missionaries who provided social services. Italian missionaries began to provide boy-only education to British and Chinese youth in 1843.[7]

By 1861 Frederick Stewart became "The Founder of Hong Kong Education" for integrating a modern western-style education model into the Colonial Hong Kong school system.[8] In 1862, the first government school, Queen's College (then Government Central School) was set up, with Stewart serving as the first Headmaster.

One of the much-contested debates was whether schools should offer Vernacular education, teaching in Chinese.[5] Education was considered a luxury for the elite and the rich. The first school to open the floodgate of western medical practice into East Asia was the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese. The London Missionary Society and Sir James Cantlie started the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese in 1887 (although, the 'for Chinese' was later dropped from the name).[9] Also, the London Missionary Society founded Ying Wa Girls' School in 1900. Belilios Public School was a girls' secondary school founded in 1890 – the first government school in Hong Kong that provided bilingual education in English and Chinese. The push for Chinese education in a British system did not begin until the rise of social awareness of the Chinese community following the 1919 May Fourth Movement and the 1934 New Life Movement in China.[5][6] Educating the poor did not become a priority until they accounted for the majority of the population. Financial issues were addressed in the 1970s.[10]

A small group of South Asian Hongkongers marched through Central demanding more schooling in the English language on 3 June 2007.[11]

Pre-school education

Pre-school education in Hong Kong is not free and fees are payable by pupils' parents. However, parents whose children have the right of abode in Hong Kong can pay for part of their fees with a voucher from the government under the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS). In 2013, the amount of subsidy under the PEVS is $16,800.

Primary and secondary education

Every child in Hong Kong, without any reasonable excuse,[12]:Section 74, (1) is required by law to attend a primary school after the child has attained the age of 6.[12]:Section 3, "primary education" It is also required to attend a secondary school after primary education and is completed before he/she attains the age of 19.[12]:Section 3, "secondary education" However, a child who has completed Form 3 of secondary education and whose parent can produce evidence to the satisfaction of the Permanent Secretary for Education, shall not apply.[12]:Section 74, (3) (c) (i) Education in the public sector is free. Public primary schools admit students via the Primary One Admission System.

School years
Age on birthday in school year Year Curriculum Stages Schools
2N/APre-school EducationN/ANursery School
3Kindergarten
4
5
6Primary 1Primary EducationPrimary School or Junior SchoolMiddle School
7Primary 2
8Primary 3
9Primary 4
10Primary 5
11Primary 6
12Secondary 1Secondary EducationSecondary EducationSecondary EducationSecondary School, Sixth Form College, or High SchoolESF Secondary School
13Secondary 2
14Secondary 3
15Secondary 4Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE)GCSE / IGCSE
16Secondary 5A levels / International Baccalaureate
17Secondary 6A levels / International Baccalaureate
18Local undergraduate programmeN/AN/AN/AN/A

Secondary education

Secondary education is separated into junior and senior years. In junior years, the curriculum is a broad one where history, geography, and science are studied alongside subjects that have already been studied at primary schools. In senior years, this becomes more selective and students have a choice over what and how much is to be studied. Almost all schools but PLK Vicwood KT Chong Sixth Form College and its feeder junior secondary college have both sessions.[13]

Annually, Form 6 students studying in local schools in Hong Kong sit for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) between early March through early May. However, a minority of local secondary schools in Hong Kong also offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) for their students as an alternative choice to the HKDSE curriculum, for example, Po Leung Kuk Choi Kai Yau School and St. Paul's Co-educational College.[14]

Further education

The commerce stream in secondary schools is considered vocational. Students in the Commerce stream would usually enter the workplace to gain practical work experience by this point. Further education pursuits in the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education or universities abroad are common. The Manpower Development Committee (MDC) advises the government on coordination, regulation, and promotion of the sector. Also, the Vocational Training Council (VTC) ensures the level of standard is met through the "Apprentice Ordinance". The VTC also operates three skills-centres for people with disabilities. secondary schools in Hong Kong are going to be cut down to only two years due to the switch in the government.

Alternative education options

International institutions provide both primary and secondary education in Hong Kong. International institutions like schools within the English Schools Foundation, Li Po Chun United World College, Hong Kong International School, American International School Hong Kong, Chinese International School, Victoria Shanghai Academy German Swiss International School, Canadian International School, Hong Kong Japanese School, Hong Kong Academy, French International School, Yew Chung International School, Po Leung Kuk Choi Kai Yau School, Singapore International School, and Harrow International School Hong Kong teach with English as the primary language, with some sections bilingual in German, French and Chinese. International school students rarely take Hong Kong public exams. British students take GCSE, IGCSE, and A-levels. US students take APs. Increasingly, international schools follow the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) and enter universities through non-JUPAS direct entry. International students apply on a per-school basis, whereas Hong Kong local students submit 1 application for multiple local universities as a JUPAS applicant.

Tertiary and Higher education
University of Hong Kong.
Main article: Higher education in Hong Kong

Higher education remains exclusive in Hong Kong. Fewer than 20,000 students are offered places funded by the government every year, although this number has more than doubled over the last three decades.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

As a result, many continue their studies abroad, as can be seen in the following table.[7]

Country197519841986198819901992199419982000
Hong Kong11,57521,53825,99529,59134,55642,72152,49459,52859,408
Australia5721,6581,6871,8893,8646,70711,93217,13520,739
US11,9309,0009,7209,16012,63014,01812,9408,7307,545
UK4,4346,5006,9357,3007,7007,6007,4005,4505,200
Canada6,6447,7236,7305,8406,3726,6006,5895,0005,000
Taiwan2,6263,8163,8543,8503,6333,4502,6631,4871,171

Bachelor's degrees issued in Hong Kong have honours distinctions: first class, second class upper division, second class lower division, and third class.

Adult education

Adult education is popular, since it gives middle age adults a chance to obtain a tertiary degree. The concept was not common several decades ago. The EMB has commissioned two non-profit school operators to provide evening courses. The operators have fee remission schemes to help adult learners in need of financial assistance. Adult education courses also provide Vocational Training Council through universities and private institutions. The Open University of Hong Kong is one establishment for mature students. Several secondary schools operate adult education sessions, the first being Cheung Sha Wan Catholic Secondary School, while PLK Vicwood KT Chong Sixth Form College offers associate degree and joint-degree programmes.

Education for immigrant and non-Cantonese-speaking children

The Education Bureau provides education services for immigrant children from Mainland China and other countries, as well as non-Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong children. Free "Induction Programmes" of up to 60 hours have been offered to NAC by non-government organisations. The EMB also provides a 6-month full-time "Initiation Programme" incorporating both academic and non-academic support services, for NAC before they are formally placed into mainstream schools. Hayes Tang (2002) provided good sociology of education thesis on the NACs' adaptation and school performance

In 2017 the Hong Kong government schools had 6,267 Pakistani students, the largest non-local bloc, and 818 white students of any national background. In 2013 there were 556 white students of any background in Hong Kong government schools. Historically non-local students from other Asian countries attended government schools while white students attended private schools instead. In 2018 Angie Chan of The New York Times reported that increasing numbers of white students were enrolling in Cantonese medium government schools. This was due to increasing tuitions from international schools which received influxes of wealthy Mainland Chinese and desires from parents for white students to learn Cantonese.[15]

International education

As of January 2015, the International Schools Consultancy (ISC)[16] listed Hong Kong as having 175 international schools.[17] ISC defines an 'international school' in the following terms "ISC includes an international school if the school delivers a curriculum to any combination of pre-school, primary or secondary students, wholly or partly in English outside an English-speaking country, or if a school in a country where English is one of the official languages, offers an English-medium curriculum other than the country’s national curriculum and is international in its orientation."[17] This definition is used by publications including The Economist.[18] There are top-rated exempted courses where courses offered overseas are collaborated with local institutions in Hong Kong to broaden the scope of Tertiary Education in Hong Kong.[19] MIT has an innovation node in Hong Kong.[20]

In addition to the international day school, Hong Kong's Japanese population is served by a weekend education programme, the Hong Kong Japanese Supplementary School (香港日本人補習授業校, Honkon Nihonjin Hoshū Jugyō Kō, HKJSS).[21]

In 2018 Angie Chan reported that increasing numbers of Chinese students, including Hong Kong Chinese and Mainland Chinese, were enrolling in private international schools. In 2017 the percentage of foreign students in such institutions was under 75%, with Hong Kong Chinese being 21.6% and Mainland Chinese being about 4%. In previous eras virtually the entire international school student body was foreign.[15]

Types of schools
Type Category Description
Government schoolsComprehensiveRun by the government.
Aided schoolsSubsidized schoolsComprehensiveMost common, run by charitable and religious (Christian, Buddhist, Taoist, TWGHs and others) organisations with government funding.
Grant schoolsSubsidisedSchools run by charitable or religious organisations with government funding according to the now defunct Grant Code. Currently receiving government aid in accordance with the Codes of Aid , which also apply for the Subsidized schools.
Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) schoolsSubsidisedRun by non-government organisations. HKSAR Government has encouraged non-government primary and secondary schools which have attained a sufficiently high education standard to join the DSS by providing subsidies to enhance the quality of private school education since 1991/92 school year. Under the scheme, schools are free to decide their curriculum, fees and entrance requirements, under the following conditions:
  • The number of students doing the local curriculum (HKDSE) must be no less than half of all students.
  • All students must participate in the local TSA examinations.
Caput schoolsSubsidisedSubsidies are provided according to the number of pupils admitted.
Private schoolsPrivateRun by private organisations and mainly accept local Chinese children. Admissions are based more on academic merit than on financial ability; they teach in English and in Cantonese.
Private international schoolsPrivateProvide an alternative to the mainstream education, in exchange for much higher tuition fees although it is recently deemed as high-pressure as local mainstream education. The schools teach streams in English and in the language of its sponsoring nation, e.g., French, German, Japanese, etc.
English Schools FoundationSubsidisedProvide an alternative to the high-pressured mainstream education. Tuition fees are lower than many other international schools as many ESF schools enjoy subvention by the Hong Kong Government to educate English-speaking children who cannot access the local system.

Legacy

From 70/80s to 2011/12
Length Education type Additional names Type Focus School year
3 yearsKindergartenvoluntaryGeneralSept – June
6 yearsPrimary educationPrimary 1 to 6compulsoryGeneralSept – July
3 yearsSecondary educationForm 1 to 3compulsoryGeneralSept – July
2 yearsSenior Secondary
(leads to HKCEE)		Form 4 and Form 5selectiveSpecialisedSept – July (Form 4), Sept – April (Form 5)
2 yearsMatriculation Course
(leads to HKALE)		Form 6 (Lower Sixth Form)
Form 7 (Upper Sixth Form)		selective, performance basedSpecialisedSept – July (Form 6), Sept – February/March (Form 7)
Depends on subjectTertiary education
(leads to bachelors, masters and other academic degrees)		selectiveSpecialisedVaries


From 2012/13 to persent
Length Education type Additional names Type Focus School year
3 yearsKindergartenvoluntaryGeneralSept – June
6 yearsPrimary educationPrimary 1 to 6compulsoryGeneralSept – July
3 yearsJunior Secondary educationJunior Secondary 1 to 3 (Form 1 to 3)compulsoryGeneralSept – July
3 yearsSenior Secondary Education
(leads to Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education)		Senior Secondary 1 to 3 (Form 4 to 6)selectiveSpecialisedSept – July (Senior Secondary 1–2), Aug – Feb (Senior Secondary 3)
Depends on subjectTertiary education
(leads to certificates, diplomas, associates, professional diploma, higher diploma, advanced diploma, bachelors, post-graduate certificates or diplomas, masters, phd)		selectiveSpecialisedVaries


Class size

Many primary schools in Hong Kong offer half-day schooling, splitting by AM and PM to handle the demand. The two sessions are usually treated as separate school entities with two different headmasters. To make up for the time of shortened half days, students are sometimes required to attend alternate Saturdays. Most primary schools are gradually moving to full school day systems as government policy aims to phase out half-day schooling over time as resource permits.

Due to the drop in birth rate in recent years, many primary schools were forced to cut classes, cut teachers and even close down. There have been debates that one should seize the opportunity to promote small class teaching. Doing so could mitigate the pressure of teachers, class and school reductions, on top of improving ratio of students to teachers.

Discipline

Good behaviour has always been emphasised in Hong Kong, to the point that it is sometimes said to hinder pupils' development. Misbehavior is recorded and shown on school reports. The Education Bureau (EDB) provides the 'Guidelines for Student Disciplines' to schools to as guidance in creating a disciplined education environment. It outlines the principles and policies regarding student discipline, the organisational structure of a school discipline team, the roles and responsibilities of the discipline master and mistress, and discipline strategies illustrated with case studies.[22]

Criticisms
See also: Hong Kong Kids phenomenon and Monster parents

Spoon feeding

Education in Hong Kong has often been described as 'spoon fed'. Cram schools in Hong Kong have also become a popular standard in parallel to regular education. Teachers focus on helping students getting high scores in the major exams and heavily rely on textbook knowledge rather than exchanging ideas and essence of the subjects.[23]

Education reform

With the advent of education reform there is a greater emphasis on group projects, open-ended assignments on top of traditional homework. The current workload of a primary student in Hong Kong includes approximately two hours of schoolwork nightly. Along with extra-curricular activities, Hong Kong's education has become synonymous for leaning towards quantity. As early as March 1987, education advisory inspectors became concerned with the excessive amounts of "mechanical work and meaningless homework".[24] In particular, history education has been recognised as ineffective, with critics claiming that the curriculum is not capable of delivering a sense of identity. Not only that, students have to memorise the whole history texts, thereby indicating that rote-learning has greater priority than absorbing and understanding material.[24]

Some have criticised the system for having too narrow of a stream focus, too early on. Legco Member Alan Leong argued in a guest lecture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong that secondary level science students are incapable of participating in meaningful discussions on history, arts, or literature. Vice versa journalists of arts stream background are incapable of accurately discussing technological issues. The narrow focus of education in Hong Kong has been a concern.

The pervasive perception from observers in overseas education institutions generally is that a typical Hong Kong student compared with other students, even against other students in the Asia region, lacks systematic decision-making confidence and relies on repetition and undeveloped answers. This deviates from the common benchmark of intellect where value propositions are generated from innovation and distinctive solutions, and this has led to much schism in the debate of educational direction of Hong Kong, where the populace makes no such aspiration for intellect but seek constant reaffirmation of the value of myriad certificates obtained through pedagogy throughout their working lives. The desperation to seek standing in life through education is further highlighted by severe ironies such as:

  1. Senior education officials often acclaim the excellence of Hong Kong education, yet few if any will let their children matriculate locally, preferring overseas universities instead.
  2. A certificate driven society that takes pride in its academic excellence is unable to devise a suitable benchmark of excellence itself, with a low public approval of the local educational system, relies on certification from outside Hong Kong.

See also
  • Education by country
  • Education in the UK
  • Education in the People's Republic of China
  • List of schools in Hong Kong
  • List of universities in Hong Kong
  • 334 Scheme (New Senior Secondary Scheme)
  • EMI schools

References
  1. "Report on Review of 9-year Compulsory October 1997 Education (Revised Version)". SUB-COMMITTEE Education, The Board of Education. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  2. Social Indicators of Hong Kong, from Archived 21 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine, The Hong Kong Council of Social Service
  3. "Overview on Primary Education". Education Bureau. Archived from the original on 10 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  4. The Chinese Repository, Article III 'Religious and Charitable Institutions in Hongkong:Churches, Chapels, Schools, Colleges, Hospital, etc' August 1843 issue, p.440
  5. Sweeting, Anthony. [1990] (1990). Education in Hong Kong, pre-1841 to 1941. p.87, Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 962-209-258-6
  6. Bryn Mawr College. "Brynmawr Eastasian pdf Archived 11 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine." "brynmawr.edu." Retrieved on 15 March 2007.
  7. Bray, Mark. Koo, Ramsey. [2005] (2005) Education and Society in Hong Kong and Macao: Comparative Perspectives on Continuity and Change. Hong Kong: Springer Press. ISBN 1-4020-3405-9
  8. Wiltshire, Trea. [First published 1987] (republished & reduced 2003). Old Hong Kong – Volume One. Central, Hong Kong: Text Form Asia books Ltd. Page 8. ISBN Volume One 962-7283-59-2
  9. Ingrams, Harold, Hong Kong (Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London: 1952), p.213.
  10. Eh Net. "Eh Net Archived 13 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine." Hong Kong History. Retrieved on 21 February 2007.
  11. Hk Marchers. " Archived 5 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine." HK marchers demand more English Retrieved on 3 June 2007.
  12. Laws of Hong Kong, Education Ordinance, Chapter 279 http://www.legislation.gov.hk/eng/home.htm Archived 16 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "The Hong Kong Education System and school system explained". Archived from the original on 3 September 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  14. https://www.ibo.org/programmes/find-an-ib-school/?SearchFields.Region=&SearchFields.Country=HK&SearchFields.Keywords=&SearchFields.Language=&SearchFields.BoardingFacilities=&SearchFields.SchoolGender=&SearchFields.ProgrammeDP=true. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. Chan, Angie (22 August 2018). "The New Thing in Hong Kong's Public Schools: White Students". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  16. "International School Consultancy Group > Home". Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  17. "International School Consultancy Group > Information > ISC News". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  18. "The new local". The Economist. 17 December 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  19. "Archived copy" 獲豁免課程名單. www.edb.gov.hk. Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. "News - MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node". MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  21. "Home Archived 3 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine." Hong Kong Japanese Supplementary School. Retrieved on February 14, 2015.
  22. "Student Guidance and Discipline Services". The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Archived from the original on 19 July 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  23. Chong, Chan, Dennis, Joyee (9 July 2012). "Students 'spoon-fed'". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  24. Vickers, Edward. [2003] (2003). In Search of an Identity: The Politics of History Teaching in Hong Kong, 1960s–2000. United Kingdom: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-94502-X

Further reading
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.