Education Secretary Christine Choi on Thursday said there is "never a good time" to scrap the HK$2,500 student grant but the current financial situation makes it necessary.

Speaking at a press conference, Choi said the cancellation is expected to save around HK$2 billion annually, which is around two percent of the total education expenditure.

"For when to remove the HK$2,500 [student grant] will be the right time, I think there's never a good time to do that, but we are still considering the present financial situation. We have to make a decision," she said.

The education chief said measures are still in place to address the plight of underprivileged pupils and parents.

"We have different student financial assistance schemes and different resources from the working family financial assistance scheme. We are also considering increasing the flexibility of using different allowances or grants in the schools."

Education sector lawmaker Chu Kwok-keung said in a statement that he was not consulted over discontinuing the subsidy.

Asked who was consulted on the measure, Choi said officials don't share specific details about the budget with individual lawmakers.

She added that officials talked to different stakeholders about which measures they wanted to keep if spending cuts were needed.