The number of student suicide cases in Hong Kong remained at a high level, according to a member of the Advisory Committee on Mental Health, Paul Yip.

Speaking on a TVB programme on Sunday, Yip said despite a drop in the cases in 2024 compared with the year before, Hong Kong needs to remain vigilant.

The head of the Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention at the University of Hong Kong said students were denied the chance of building friendship during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the long-lasting impact still affects some of them today.

"The students at their teenage years should have established good interpersonal relationships and a network of friends, but they lost that opportunity. Even after they move up to senior grades, they might not be able to fix the relationships," Yip said.

"We hope schools could provide more opportunities for the students to build closer relationships with their classmates and teachers, and many problems can be solved on that level without the need of professionals."

Yip said it’s important to make schools "a happy place" for students, to help reduce their anxiety.

He raised concern about suicide cases among primary five and six students, and called for the expansion of the government-led three-tier school-based emergency mechanism to cover primary students as well.

Yip also called on parents to notice sudden changes in their children’s emotions and enhance communication.