Hong Kong’s Education Market – Trends and Opportunities

Hong Kong’s schooling market, famend for its variety and excellence, is present process new developments as town seeks to rework itself right into a regional schooling hub for coaching expertise within the Larger Bay Space. On the identical time, town has fostered the expansion of a vibrant non-public schooling sector protecting e-learning, non-public tutoring, and edtech. We take a look at the newest traits and alternatives for buyers throughout the sector, in addition to the federal government’s function in shaping the market’s growth.

Hong Kong has been the middle for schooling in Asia for a lot of many years, house to a various and worldwide pupil physique and among the world’s finest universities. The town is adept at cultivating a number of generations of high-skilled expertise, and in the present day continues to position an enormous quantity of significance on educating its youth. 

The pandemic has accelerated traits towards digital and on-line studying, providing new development alternatives for the host of recent edtech and e-learning start-ups that help town’s formal schooling system.  

As well as, the federal government is looking for to show town right into a “regional schooling hub” for increased schooling by deepening collaboration with establishments on the Chinese language mainland and making it the middle for studying and expertise cultivation within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Larger Bay Space (GBA). 

On this article, we offer an outline of Hong Kong’s schooling market and focus on among the new traits and alternatives arising throughout the sector. 

Overview of Hong Kong’s schooling market 

Hong Kong’s schooling panorama 

Hong Kong’s schooling system was primarily based largely upon the British system till an overhaul in 2012 led to the Diploma of Secondary Schooling (DSE) changing the Hong Kong Certificates of Schooling Examination (HKCEE), the latter modeled after the UK’s GCSEs and the UK-based A-Ranges. 

Hong Kong has 9 years of free obligatory schooling for kids aged six to fifteen, protecting six years of main college and three years of junior secondary college. Kindergartens and childcare facilities are solely obtainable for a charge and are usually supplied for kids aged three to 6. All kindergartens in Hong Kong are due to this fact non-public and will be run as both a for-profit or non-profit establishment. All kindergartens for kids aged three to 6 are regulated by the Schooling Bureau, whereas kindergartens and childcare facilities for kids below the age of three are regulated by the Social Welfare Division.

In keeping with statistics from Hong Kong’s Schooling Bureau, within the 2021 to 2022 college 12 months, there have been a complete of 1,042 registered kindergartens, 591 registered main faculties, and 508 registered secondary faculties. Among the many kindergartens, 16.7 p.c had been non-local, that means they cater to non-Chinese language-speaking youngsters. 

*Kindergartens are registered solely as native/non-local. All kindergartens are privately run. 

Notice: Figures embody solely kindergartens and faculties registered below the Hong Kong Schooling Bureau. Major and secondary college figures don’t embody particular faculties. 

Supply: Hong Kong Schooling Bureau.

In the meantime, among the many registered main faculties, 19 p.c had been non-public, of which nearly 40 p.c had been worldwide. 11 p.c of the registered secondary faculties had been non-public, of which 57.8 p.c had been worldwide. 

*Kindergartens are registered solely as native/non-local. All kindergartens are privately run. 

Notice: Enrolment figures are as of September 15, 2021. Figures embody solely kindergartens and faculties registered below the Hong Kong Schooling Bureau. Major and secondary college figures don’t embody particular faculties. 

Supply: Hong Kong Schooling Bureau. 

Hong Kong can be house to 22 degree-awarding increased schooling institutes, together with 4 which can be listed among the many high 100 universities within the 2022 Instances Larger Schooling rankings: the College of Hong Kong (30), Chinese language College of Hong Kong (49), the Hong Kong College of Science and Know-how (66), and Hong Kong Polytechnic College (91). 

Progress drivers of Hong Kong’s schooling market 

As a small metropolis with restricted pure sources and land space, expertise is certainly one of Hong Kong’s most vital belongings, and schooling is the spine propping up the event of this key useful resource. Estimated authorities expenditure on schooling within the 2022/23 college 12 months is HK$111.9 billion (US$14.3 billion), which quantities to 13.8 p.c of the federal government’s estimated expenditure over that interval. 

On a person stage, Hong Kongers additionally place excessive worth on schooling, as it’s seen as one of many foremost drivers of social mobility. Many households are due to this fact prepared to pay out of pocket for extra instructional sources and companies. As an example, though kindergartens should not free for kids in Hong Kong, nearly 100% of kids aged three to 5 attended kindergartens within the 2021/22 college 12 months, in keeping with the Hong Kong Schooling Bureau. Hong Kong can be house to a particularly profitable non-public tutoring trade, with dad and mom spending hundreds of {dollars} a month on extra-curricular studying within the type of non-public tutors, cram faculties, and prep courses. 

There has additionally been a pattern of native Hong Kongers sending their youngsters to non-public, fee-paying faculties in Hong Kong, relatively than native public faculties, as there’s a view that they supply increased high quality studying than public faculties. 

The upper schooling trade can be an vital sector in Hong Kong, house to among the finest universities in Asia. With most increased schooling establishments providing programs in English, town additionally attracts hundreds of worldwide college students yearly. 

Developments and alternatives in Hong Kong’s schooling market 

Worldwide day faculties 

Hong Kong is a extremely various metropolis and residential to individuals from many alternative nationalities, cultures, and ethnic backgrounds. As such, a variety of worldwide faculties have been established to cater to the youngsters of international staff in addition to non-Chinese language talking households. There was a complete of 54 worldwide faculties in Hong Kong within the 2021/22 college 12 months, a lot of which offer each main and secondary college grades.

The worldwide faculties additionally provide vary of international curricula and levels, together with British, American, Japanese, and French curricula, the worldwide baccalaureate (IB), Montessori, in addition to religious-based and international language curricula. Notable worldwide faculties within the metropolis embody Harrow Worldwide College, Wycombe Abbey College, and Nord Anglia Worldwide College.  

Hong Kong lately introduced a sequence of recent incentive insurance policies to draw extra worldwide expertise within the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The doable inflow of extra international staff will in flip have a constructive influence on the international pupil consumption at worldwide faculties.

Furthermore, the federal government actively encourages the event of worldwide faculties in Hong Kong, “primarily to satisfy the demand for worldwide college locations from non-local households residing in Hong Kong and households coming to Hong Kong for work or funding”, as written by the Schooling Bureau. 

Larger schooling institutes 

Hong Kong has lengthy been a middle for increased schooling within the area and continues to be house to among the world’s high universities. The majority of Hong Kong’s universities provide English-language programs, facilitating cooperation with world establishments and drastically decreasing the barrier of entry for worldwide college students, though enrolment of undergraduate and postgraduate international college students (together with mainland Chinese language) is capped at 20 p.c. 

There has additionally been a marked uptick within the variety of mainland Chinese language college students selecting to check at Hong Kong universities, particularly as universities in western nations turn out to be much less engaging following the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The federal government is looking for to construct upon town’s glorious instructional legacy by turning Hong Kong right into a “regional schooling hub” by means of internationalization and diversification.  

“The Authorities’s goal is to nurture abilities for different industries and entice excellent individuals from all over the world, boosting Hong Kong’s competitiveness and facilitating the long run growth of Hong Kong, Pearl River Delta area and the nation as a complete” – Hong Kong Schooling Bureau 

The imaginative and prescient to develop Hong Kong’s increased schooling institutes ties into town’s place throughout the GBA, which can see it foster expertise for the event of key industries within the space. These are principally surrounding the high-tech and rising industries, particularly built-in circuits, superior manufacturing, biopharmaceuticals, and extra, but in addition fields reminiscent of finance, skilled companies, and commerce, amongst others. 

When it comes to growth trajectory, the federal government is looking for to develop Hong Kong’s schooling in science, know-how, engineering, and arithmetic (STEM) with a view to create a extremely expert workforce that aligns with China’s total growth objectives for technological and scientific growth. 

New expertise schemes launched within the GBA incentivize younger expert and sought-after expertise from Hong Kong to work within the 9 Guangdong cities of the GBA. Hong Kong’s increased schooling institutes have additionally taken steps to deepen cooperation with counterparts on the mainland by means of the institution of analysis institutes. As an example, the Chinese language College of Hong Kong established a mainland China campus in Shenzhen in 2012 and the Hong Kong Polytechnic College established the Shenzhen Analysis Institute to give attention to R&D, know-how switch, and expertise cultivation. The Schooling College of Hong Kong additionally started a scheme for undergraduates within the 2022/23 tutorial 12 months to do work and internship placements in mainland GBA cities. 

On-line schooling and schooling know-how 

As is the case in lots of different locations on the earth, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the uptake of e-learning and the edtech that facilitate on-line courses. Though in-person courses are more likely to prevail post-COVID within the Okay-12 sector, many colleges are nonetheless trying to combine digital studying modes into their curricula and digitize their instructional methods. This section of the academic trade due to this fact nonetheless presents vital alternatives for distributors offering companies and merchandise, reminiscent of e-learning platforms and edtech consulting. 

Additionally it is vital to notice that e-learning and edtech have been growing in Hong Kong for a few years previous to the pandemic, and now current one of many foremost development areas within the metropolis’s schooling sector. Hong Kong has fostered the rise of a variety of e-learning and edtech start-ups protecting a variety of sectors, from Okay-12 to school to grownup and vocational studying. Notable Hong Kong edtech and e-learning firms embody italki, the net language-learning platform, Spredemy.com, which offers on-line tutoring for Okay-12 college students, AfterShcool, a web based DSE prep college, and Snapask, a homework assist platform. 

Non-public tutoring 

The non-public tutoring trade is troublesome to quantify as a consequence of the truth that many non-public tutors are informally employed and organized privately, however it’s clear that the trade continues to be extremely profitable. In contrast to in mainland China, Hong Kong has not positioned any restrictions on the event of the non-public tutoring trade, and it at the moment seems unlikely that it’s going to accomplish that. 

Along with the excessive worth positioned inside Hong Kong society mentioned above, non-public tutoring continues to be an vital useful resource for households out of necessity. As defined in a analysis report written by Richard Eng, co-founder of Beacon Faculty, a series of cram faculties in Hong Kong, a restricted variety of college areas and minimal necessities for entrance for matters reminiscent of English, Chinese language, arithmetic, pure sciences, and geography, amongst others, has led to elevated stress on college students and households to excel in class. 

As with formal studying, non-public tutoring has additionally been swept up within the e-learning wave. Though this pattern has been accelerated by the pandemic, which pressured many individuals to expertise on-line studying for the primary time, the pattern didn’t start in 2020.

Richard Eng wrote within the report in 2019 that, as a consequence of Hong Kong’s declining beginning charges and an getting old inhabitants, tutoring institutes in Hong Kong are not capable of depend on a rising student-age inhabitants for development, and can as an alternative should give attention to growing the worth of companies and lowering the price of operations. It will embody growing the variety of on-line courses and lowering the variety of in-person courses. 

Along with the pattern towards on-line studying, the tutoring trade can be more likely to observe the pattern of many different sectors and start inserting extra emphasis on personalization. This will embody tailored programs and courses for particular person college students, in addition to teachers-cum-influencers and social media changing conventional advertising and marketing ways. 

The shift to on-line studying for personal tutoring will naturally additionally include an elevated reliance on edtech and digital studying platforms, and the non-public tutoring sector will due to this fact doubtless develop carefully alongside the edtech trade.

Assist for instructional establishments 

There are usually no restrictions on international funding in Hong Kong, and international buyers are permitted to arrange wholly foreign-owned non-public faculties and academic establishments. 

QEF scheme 

Launched in 1997, the High quality Schooling Fund (QEF) offers grants for “high quality schooling tasks” in Okay-12 faculties and native firms serving to to implement these tasks. Funding is usually given to tasks that fall into 5 broad classes: tasks for selling efficient studying, selling all-round schooling, implementing school-based administration, analysis tasks exploring schooling points, and software of IT. As well as, the QEF will usually set a variety of “precedence themes” for challenge funding every year, which can normally align with the federal government’s total objectives for schooling. As an example, for the 2020/21 college 12 months, the precedence themes included STEM schooling and knowledge know-how (IT) for schooling.

Firms that present companies and merchandise for faculties to implement these tasks could possibly apply for grants from the QEF or profit not directly from faculties that obtain grants to implement tasks and rent the corporate as a vendor. 

The QEF additionally runs an e-learning help program for all main and secondary faculties by subsidizing laptops and web help companies for kids who’re unable to entry these sources as a consequence of monetary constraints. 

NET scheme 

The Schooling Bureau runs a Native-speaking English Instructor (NET) scheme to assist entice native English academics to public main and secondary faculties in Hong Kong. The Schooling Bureau assists faculties by recruiting English academics and appointing them to a public college and protecting the academics’ salaries and residing prices.