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Chapter 7

Education

In an increasingly competitive and connected world, education is of vital importance. Reflecting that, total government expenditure on education has increased from $54.3 billion in 2005-06 to $79.1 billion in 2015-16 revised estimates, or 18.5 per cent of total government spending.

Overview of Education in Hong Kong

Education is compulsory for every child in Hong Kong from the age of six. To meet the different needs of students, there are various types of schools in Hong Kong. The government provides 12 years' free primary and secondary education to all students in public-sector schools, which form the majority in the local school system. These consist of government schools operated directly by the government and aided schools (generally run by religious or charitable organisations) which are fully subvented by the government but managed by their own incorporated management committee or school management committee. In addition, there are Direct Subsidy Scheme schools (which can charge school fees, receive government subvention based on enrolment and enjoy greater flexibility in various areas) and self-financed private schools providing alternatives to parents.

Hong Kong's 51 international schools (including 15 operated by the English Schools Foundation) provide around 41,000 places as of September 2015, catering to the demand of overseas families living in Hong Kong and families coming to Hong Kong for work or investment. Generally operated on a self-financing basis, these schools offer different non-local curricula, including those of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Singapore, the United States, and others such as the International Baccalaureate programme.

Both publicly funded and self-financing post-secondary programmes are provided at different levels, including sub-degree, undergraduate and above. The publicly funded programmes are provided by the eight University Grants Committee-funded institutions, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the Vocational Training Council (VTC). Diverse self-financing post-secondary programmes of quality are provided by post-secondary institutions (including the publicly funded institutions and their self-financing arms) with a choice of study pathways and multiple entry and exit points.

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