Five Hong Kong primary schools will not receive funding for Primary One classes in the upcoming school year after not enough students enrolled, the city’s education chief has said.
Saint Charles School in Kennedy Town was among the five schools that did not have enough enrolments, telling local outlets, including InMedia, that it was one pupil short of meeting the Education Bureau’s (EDB) minimum threshold of 16 students.
Secretary for Education Christine Choi told reporters at the Legislative Council on Friday that the bureau could not keep “endlessly” lowering its funding threshold, having already dropped it from 24. “What would be a humane [class size]?” Choi asked.
“If there are not even 16 people in one form, I think it is very undesirable for students’ learning,” said Choi.
Saint Charles School said in a Facebook post on Thursday night that it would continue to appeal the EDB’s decision.
“The Education Bureau has allowed the school to take part in the Primary One admission system for [the following 2024-25 school year], meaning that if enough students opt to study P.1 in our school, Saint Charles School can continue its operation,” the post read.
Schools in the city have seen fewer enrolments as Hong Kong’s population has shrunk. From mid-2021 to mid-2022 more than 113,000 residents left the city, according to government figures. The year-on-year drop was the largest percentage decline over a 12-month period since records began in 1961.
Last month, the EDB approved an application to merge two secondary schools – Caritas Charles Vath College and Caritas Wu Cheng-Chung Secondary School, starting from the 2024-25 school year.
The latter school, which is currently located in Pok Fu Lam, will relocate to Tung Chung.
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