The government said on Wednesday that there are more than 5,600 vacancies at international schools across Hong Kong this year, up 22 percent from the last academic year.

In a written reply to a question from Business and Professionals Alliance lawmaker Jeffrey Lam, the Education Bureau said the jump in vacancies could've been down to some families of non-local students returning home during the pandemic.

"Amid the Covid-19 epidemic, some non-local students might have moved back to their hometowns with their families, resulting in a higher than usual dropout rate among non-local students," it said, noting however that the overall enrolment at international schools remained stable during the pandemic.

Local students make up more than a third of the student population at international schools this year, compared to less than a quarter in 2018-19.

The bureau said with Hong Kong returning to normality, schools are expected to gradually take in more non-local students again.

It said it will closely monitor the demand and supply of places at both international and local schools.