HONG KONG: THE FACTS
Education
The total budgeted government expenditure on education in the 2015-16 financial year is $79.3 billion, representing 18 per cent of total government expenditure.
The Government has extended free education in public sector schools from nine years to 12 years as from the 2008/09 school year. In addition, full subvention has been provided for full-time courses run by the Vocational Training Council (VTC) for Secondary 3 school leavers, giving senior secondary students an alternative free avenue to conventional education.
There are three main types of local schools – government schools which are operated by the Government; aided schools which are fully subvented by the Government but run by voluntary bodies; and private schools, some of which receive financial assistance from the Government. Government and aided schools deliver a curriculum recommended by the Government. They offer free primary and secondary education.
Besides, there are 51 international schools (including 15 schools operated by the English Schools Foundation) offering non-local curricula mainly to children of overseas families living in Hong Kong and coming to Hong Kong for work or investment.
Kindergartens: Kindergarten education is offered to children in the 3-5 age group in kindergartens which are privately run by voluntary organisations or private bodies. These kindergartens are registered with, and supervised by the Education Bureau (EDB). In September 2014, about 176 400 pupils were enrolled in 978 kindergartens/kindergarten-cum-child care centres.
Existing government assistance to kindergartens includes rent, rates and government rent reimbursement to non-profit-making kindergartens, allocating purpose-built kindergarten premises in public housing estates, the remission of fees to needy parents through the Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme and provision of training programmes for teachers and principals. The Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme, introduced in the 2007/08 school year, provides direct fee subsidy for parents, which also enhances the quality of kindergartens.
The EDB has implemented the revised 'Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum' since September 2007, providing the basic principles and direction for kindergartens to develop their school-based programmes.
Primary Education: Primary schooling starts at the age of around six and there are 6 years of schooling at the primary level. There are three modes of operation in the primary schools, namely AM, PM and whole-day. Encouraged by the Government, most primary schools are adopting whole-day operation. All eligible children are, on application, allocated Primary 1 places in government and aided primary schools through the Primary One Admission System. The system consists of the Discretionary Places (DP) stage and the Central Allocation (CA) stage. At the DP stage, parents can apply for admission to only one government or aided primary school of their preference, and admission is based on the criteria prescribed by the EDB. At the CA stage, P1 places are centrally allocated by the EDB according to the school net, parents' choice of schools, and a given random number. Chinese is the language of instruction in most schools with English taught as a second language.
In September 2014, about 266 153 children were enrolled in 452 public sector primary schools.
Since the curriculum reform at the basic education level in the 2001/02 school year, there has been enhanced learning and teaching in classrooms. Students are now enjoying a wide range of learning activities and there are improvements in students' generic skills, values and attitudes. They are becoming independent learners. Schools continue to adapt the central curriculum to meet students' needs. By building on their strengths and experiences, schools can strengthen their curricula to help students better develop their lifelong learning capabilities and nurture their whole-person development.
Secondary Education: On completion of primary education, all eligible pupils studying in participating primary schools are allocated subsidised Secondary 1 places through participation in the Secondary School Places Allocation System. The system consists of the Discretionary Places (DP) stage and the Central Allocation (CA) stage. At the DP stage, each student may apply to not more than two participating secondary schools and secondary schools may admit students in accordance with their admission criteria. At the CA stage, S1 places are allocated according to individual student's allocation band, parental choice of schools and a given random number.
In September 2014, 395 public sector secondary schools had a total student enrolment of about 302110.
The new academic structure (NAS) has been implemented smoothly since September 2009 in Secondary 4. All students can now benefit from 6 years of secondary education (i.e. 3 years of junior secondary and 3 years of senior secondary education). On completion of Secondary 6, students take one public examination - the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination, which replaces the former Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination and Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination. The flexible, coherent and diversified senior secondary curriculum aims at catering for students' varied interests, needs and abilities, as well as nurturing students' whole-person development and lifelong learning capabilities for them to proceed, through multiple pathways, to further studies, training and employment.
Special Education: Under the prevailing policy, subject to the assessment and recommendation of the specialists
