Hong Kong Education System

Kindergartens

In Hong Kong, kindergartens and kindergarten-cum-child care centres (hereafter collectively referred to as "KG") provide services for children from three to six years old. The aim of kindergarten education in Hong Kong is to nurture children to attain all-round development in the domains of ethics, intellect, physique, social skills and aesthetics; to develop good habits so as to prepare them for life; and to stimulate children’s interest in learning and cultivate in them positive learning attitudes, in order to lay the foundation for their future learning.

Primary Education

The Government aims to provide a balanced and diverse school education that meet the different need of our students; help them build up knowledge, values and skills for further studies and personal growth; and enhance students' biliterate (i.e. English and Chinese) and trilingual (i.e. English, Putonghua and Cantonese) abilities.

Primary schooling starts at the age of around six and there are 6 years of schooling at the primary level. There are three modes of operation in the primary schools, namely AM, PM and whole-day. Encouraged by the Government, most primary schools are adopting whole-day operation. Chinese is the language of instruction in most schools with English taught as a second language.

Since the curriculum reform at the basic education level in the 2001/02 school year, there has been enhanced learning and teaching in classrooms. Students are now enjoying a wide range of learning activities and there are improvements in students’ generic skills, values and attitudes. They are becoming independent learners. Schools continue to adapt the central curriculum to meet students’ needs. By building on their strengths and experiences, schools can strengthen their curricula to help students better develop their lifelong learning capabilities and nurture their whole-person development.

Secondary Education

There are three main types of local secondary schools – government schools which are operated by the Government; aided schools which are fully subvented by the Government but run by voluntary bodies; and private schools, some of which receive financial assistance from the Government. Government and aided schools deliver a curriculum recommended by the Government. They offer free and secondary education.

Besides, there are some international schools which offer non-local curricula and serve primarily non-Chinese speaking students and foreign nationals.

To cope with the challenges of the 21st Century and the demands of the rapidly developing knowledge-based society, the Government has implemented the 3-year new senior secondary (NSS) curriculum at Secondary 4 in September 2009.

This flexible, coherent and diversified curriculum aims at catering for students’ varied interests, needs and abilities, as well as nurturing students’ whole-person development and lifelong learning capabilities. The first cohort of NSS students graduated in the summer of 2012.

All students can now benefit from 6 years of secondary education. At the end of Secondary 6, students take one public examination - the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination, which replaces the former Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination and Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination. The first HKDSE examination was held smoothly in 2012. The HKDSE qualification has gained extensive recognition locally and worldwide, in international benchmarking studies such as the NARIC (National Recognition Information Center) report and the Tariff System of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) in the United Kingdom. As of June 2014, some 170 overseas tertiary institutions, including renowned universities such as Oxford and Yale, have accepted the new qualification for admission purpose, and more are being added.

Post-secondary Education

The Government strives to provide multiple study pathways for secondary school leavers, with multiple entry and exit points. Some of them will study bachelor’s degree programmes direct after completing HKDSE. Some will choose to study sub-degree programmes. Upon graduation, they can pursue study in top-up degree programmes (i.e. “2 + 2” arrangement) and obtain their undergraduate qualifications.

At present, there are 20 local degree-awarding institutions (9 publicly-funded and 11 self-financing ones) in Hong Kong. Apart from undergraduate programmes offered, students can also choose a wide diversity of sub-degree programmes, various continuing and vocational programmes that best suit their interests and ability.

We adopt a two-pronged strategy of promoting the parallel development of the publicly-funded sector and the self-financing sector in developing post-secondary education in Hong Kong. In academic year 2013/14, over one-third of the relevant age cohort will have the opportunity to pursue degree-level education. Taking sub-degree places into account, nearly 70% of young people will have access to post-secondary education.

There is also a wide array of taught and research postgraduate programmes for students who have graduated from their undergraduate studies to choose from.

Vocational Education

Vocational education plays a pivotal role in broadening the learning opportunities for school leavers and in-service personnel as well as nurturing the requisite human capital in support of Hong Kong’s development. The Government have been attaching great importance to vocational education.

The Vocational Training Council (VTC) provides through its 13 member institutions around 250 000 training places each year, offering people of different education levels with pre-employment and in-service vocational education and training programmes.

Various post-secondary education institutions also offer more than 250 higher diploma programmes, of which at least 60% of the curriculum is devoted to specialized content in specific disciplines, professions or vocational skills.

International schools

Apart from local schools, the Government aims to develop a vibrant international school sector in mainly meeting the demand for school places from overseas families living in Hong Kong and families coming to Hong Kong for work or investment.