Secretary for Education Christine Choi on Sunday said authorities would notify in advance schools that may not have enough students to form a primary one class.

Authorities would also offer assistance to schools that need to merge amid a decline in the number of school-age children, she said.

Her remarks came as 15 schools said they were unable to operate a primary one class in the coming 2026-27 academic year, after failing to get 16 pupils.

Speaking on a TVB programme, Choi said authorities are observing the trend of students in the coming five to 10 years.

Schools that may not have enough students would receive an early notification to take action, she said.

“We encourage schools to enhance quality through merging. Instead of waiting till they fail to form a primary one class, we expect schools to join forces and expand their scale with more resources,” she said.

“Therefore, except for the existing options, we hope school sponsoring bodies can take the initiative to see if there are schools with similar focuses, so that they can pool resources and achieve a greater scale.”

Meanwhile, Choi also said a three-tier mechanism to support students with mental health risks has proven to be helpful.

She said authorities would explore how to make the best use of the mechanism and further enhance coordination between schools and off-campus support.


Edited by Aaron Tam