Number of Hong Kong pupils in international schools tripled in 11 years amid decline in non-local enrolment
- Proportion of non-local pupils in international school enrolment fell from 81 per cent in 2013 to 65 per cent last year
- Minister Christine Choi dismisses suggestion parents did not want to send children to local schools because of the increasing emphasis on national education
Total enrolment in the city’s international schools rose by about a fifth over that period, from about 35,000 to 42,000 pupils, but the split between locals and non-locals did not rise proportionally.
Non-local students made up 81 per cent of the international schools’ enrolment in 2013, but only 65 per cent last year, according to statistics provided by the Education Bureau to the legislature.
Their number fell from 30,259 in the 2013-14 school year to 27,390 in the current one. Meanwhile, the number of locals tripled from 5,321 to 14,684.
Education minister Christine Choi Yuk-lin told the Post that Hong Kong parents had many reasons for sending their children to international schools, including the personality of their kids and where they might study in the future.
