Secretary for Education Christine Choi announced on Tuesday a series of enhanced measures aimed at bolstering support for non-Chinese speaking students and facilitating their smooth integration into the education system.

Speaking in a ceremony at the new campus of the Hong Kong Taoist Association Wun Tsuen School in Kwun Tong at the start of the academic year, she praised the primary school – which has a high enrollment of ethnic minority students – for fostering a diverse and inclusive environment.

Choi said the campus not only offers small-group Chinese language courses for non-Chinese speaking learners but also a variety of multi-language programmes and extracurricular interest classes.

"The Education Bureau has also allocated extra funding to create new pathways for students, provide parental education and support, and help non-Chinese students better learn the Chinese language, adapt to the local education system, and prepare for future study and work," she said.

Choi also outlined a comprehensive range of measures covering curriculum development, teaching resources, teacher training and professional support services – all aimed at ensuring that students from non-Chinese backgrounds can achieve academic success on par with their peers.

In response to questions from reporters after the ceremony, she also addressed the city’s declining school-age population, describing it as a structural issue.

She emphasised that the bureau is implementing various strategies to help schools achieve a "soft landing" in the face of this decline, allowing them to gradually adjust class sizes and the number of classes offered.

As part of these efforts, the bureau has invited schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) to apply for an expansion of their sources of students.

This initiative permits DSS schools to increase both class numbers and sizes in order to admit self-financing non-locals who hold student visas.

Choi said the Hong Kong Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council has been actively promoting the plan across Southeast Asia and has received positive feedback from parents in the region.

The final number of non-locals arriving in Hong Kong for studies, she said, will be determined after the official student headcount is completed at the end of this month.



Edited by Edmond Fong