Expanding the Educational Horizons Beyond Mainland China for Hong Kong
Rewritten Article:
More students from the mainland are flocking to educational institutions in Hong Kong due to the increased admission quota for non-local students. Whilst this surge could highlight the quality of education, it's crucial to control numbers to guarantee local students retain their majority status.
It's astonishing to see some self-financing institutions boasting an intake of mainland students surpassing 60% of their overall enrollment – almost six times the limit. Such violations have prompted Christine Choi Yuk-lin, the Secretary for Education, to issue cautionary notes. "We've alerted the Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications, and this will be accounted for during the institutions' routine academic and quality accreditation reviews," Choi stated.
Currently, the mainland student quota for undergraduate and postgraduate programs at Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Shue Yan University, and Hang Seng University stands at 20% of their total enrollment. Chu Hai College of Higher Education, Tung Wah College, and the Technological and Higher Education Institute have a quota of 10%.
Official data reveals that the proportion of mainland students at Chu Hai College skyrocketed to 62.6% in 2024-25, marking a 42.7% increase from 2023-24 and a 21.6% rise from 2022-23. Shue Yan University also surpassed the limit this year with a rate of 23.3%.
Undeniably, authorities are justified in sending out threatening letters to the above-mentioned institutions and adopting a practical approach aiming to bring the intake back to the preferred threshold.
To elevate Hong Kong's reputation as an international education and talent hub, the non-local admission quota at the eight publicly funded universities has been doubbled to 40%. Although there might be room to enhancement among self-financing institutions too, worries are mounting that the "Study in Hong Kong" brand seems to attract more mainland students than international students from elsewhere. Government officials should reevaluate the situation periodically to ensure the goal of an international education hub can be accomplished.
Insights:
- Quota Violations: Institutional overshooting of the allowed mainland student quota could lead to underrepresentation and dilution of opportunities for local students [1][2].
- Academic Accreditation Threat: The high intake of mainland students could potentially impact the academic accreditation of the institutions involved [1][2].
- Educational Quality and Local Priorities: The influx of mainland students may potentially compromise the quality of education and undermine the priority afforded to local students [1].
Measures being taken to rectify these issues include:
- Quota Adjustments: The government plans to gradually increase the admission quota for mainland students in self-financing institutions while closely monitoring the institutions to prevent continued breaches [4][5].
- Enhanced Governance: Proposals have been made to amend the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance with a view to improving governance and boosting competitiveness among self-financing institutions [5].
- Facilities and Resource Management: Institutions are investing in infrastructure expansion, including the construction of new facilities, to accommodate an increased number of students while maintaining a focus on quality education [4].
- Warnings and Monitoring: The Education Bureau is actively monitoring institutions that exceed the quota and issuing warnings about potential impacts on academic and quality accreditation reviews [1][2].
- Given the surge of mainland students in Hong Kong's educational institutions, it is essential to maintain a sufficient quota for local students to ensure they retain their majority status.
- The high intake of mainland students in certain self-financing institutions, surpassing 60% of their overall enrollment, has led to concerns about academic accreditation due to the potential compromise of quality education.
- As a result of the violations in the mainland student quota, Christine Choi Yuk-lin, the Secretary for Education, has issued cautionary notes, stating that the Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications will account for these breaches during routine reviews.
- To maintain Hong Kong's reputation as an international education and talent hub, measures are being taken, including quota adjustments, enhanced governance, facilities and resource management, and warnings about potential impacts on academic and quality accreditation reviews, to prevent the dilution of opportunities for local students and ensure a balance between attracting mainland and international students from elsewhere.
