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Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and has a population of 7 million people. Under the principle of 'one country, two systems', a free market economy and way of life has been maintained in the former British dependent territory since 1 July 1997.
It is a dynamic market environment, now being influenced positively by major education reforms and changes to the academic structure being phased in between 2009 and 2012. Despite increases in local capacity at all levels of education in the last decade, numbers enrolled in UK education are at record levels. Demand for higher levels of education exceeds supply in Hong Kong whilst the major changes in local education are inevitably accompanied by some uncertainties, resulting in a notable increase in interest in UK alternatives this year.
Education accounts for more than 20% per cent of public spending and has been increasing year-on-year since the mid-1990s. Education is highly regarded as a means to enhancing social status and career opportunities. It is compulsory from the age of six, for nine years, whilst access to free education is provided for 12 years. More than 90 per cent of children receive three years of pre-school education, heavily subsidised through a voucher scheme introduced in 2007. Whilst places in publicly-funded higher education are limited to 18 per cent of the age cohort, the percentage achieving undergraduate education is now around 34 per cent, with private, TNE and overseas providers catering for the rest.
The government has since 1997 developed and is implementing major education reforms aimed at improving the quality of education and to widen access to higher levels of study. This is culminating in a new academic structure being phased in from 2009, when students entering Secondary Four will study for a three-year secondary qualification called the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) instead of the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) sat at the end of Secondary Five and the Hong Kong A-levels (HKALE) sat at the end of Secondary Seven. All students will be able to study for the HKDSE. Universities, meanwhile, will extend undergraduate courses from three to four years from 2012. This is the so-called 3+3+4 academic structure (three years of junior secondary, three years of senior secondary, and four years of university education).
Reforms have already increased post-secondary opportunities to more than 60 per cent of the age group, mainly through the development of the self-financed sub-degree sector. However, that figure does include some students studying overseas. Reforms in curriculum, assessment, and teaching and learning, aim to improve students’ communication skills, critical thinking and creativity, and to prepare them for living and working in a knowledge-based economy and society. Following Hong Kong’s return to China in 1997, there is also increased emphasis on national education.
There has been a continuing shortage of sixth form places until the last cohort of students entered the two-year senior secondary programme in September 2010. While capacity issues at sixth form have largely been resolved by the new academic structure, parents are still choosing to transfer their children to alternative education systems during the secondary years, including after Secondary Five. This is due to widespread lack of confidence in both the reforms and pathways to higher education. There is a continued shortage of undergraduate places for qualified students in Hong Kong, which will increase after the reforms as the government has no plans to increase the number of publicly-funded first degree places. Demand for GCSEs, A-levels, IB Diploma and UK undergraduate programmes has been increasing since 1996.
The Hong Kong education system was modelled on that of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, due to the historical relationship with the UK. At secondary, students studied for the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE), equivalent to GCSEs and taken at age 17, and the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE), take at 19. An undergraduate degree has normally taken three years to complete.
The new senior secondary curriculum, phased in from 2009, aims to broaden students' education and remove the specialist streaming of students into arts and sciences from Secondary Four. Students study four core subjects – Chinese, English, Mathematics and Liberal Studies. The latter is a cross-discipline subject covering personal growth, society and culture, and science, technology and environment, and involves an inquiry-based approach to learning and independent research project. Students also take two to three elective subjects from 20 academic options and 30 Applied Learning courses. Physical, aesthetic and careers education, as well as community service, complete the baccalaureate-style programme.
Chinese is the language of instruction in most schools, with English taught as a second language from kindergarten onwards. A review of medium of instruction policy was completed in 2005, with further changes announced in 2009. Under the latest policy, from 2010-2011 secondary schools can use English as the medium of instruction from Secondary One for classes where at least 85 per cent of the class is able to learn in English – defined as those in the top 40 per cent across the cohort in academic performance. Schools must also prove that their teachers are able to teach in English and have other support measures. The remaining classes will be able to use English for up to 25 per cent of teaching time. Currently, about 112 secondary schools are permitted to use English as the medium of instruction from Secondary One across all subjects. Nearly half of schools have indicated they will teach at least some subjects in English under the new policy.
Entry to secondary school remains selective, with students divided at the end of primary schooling into three ability bands for secondary allocation. Band one students are more likely to be allocated to the most popular English-medium schools.
Internationalisation is high on the government agenda. Universities in Hong Kong are actively seeking and developing links with overseas institutions for student exchange, academic exchange and research collaboration. To broaden their horizons, students are encouraged to participate in exchange programmes for a semester or a year during their undergraduate studies. The government is promoting Hong Kong as an education hub, seeking to attract both international students and institutions to Hong Kong.
There is a well-established tradition among Hong Kong families of sending their children to study overseas. According to a Thematic Household Survey Report on 'Hong Kong students studying outside Hong Kong', by the Census and Statistics Department in December 2010, there were 66,700 people aged 25 and below who intended to study outside Hong Kong in the next five years. Among these, 16.7 per cent intended to study in the UK, followed by Australia (14.9 per cent), the USA (11.7 per cent) and Canada (7.3 per cent).
Australia, the USA and Canada are the major English-speaking countries that are active in attracting Hong Kong students. According to the latest comparable figures, the UK is the leading international study destination for school and higher education:
- 5,859 students from Hong Kong were studying in UK independent schools in 2010-11 (accounting for around 24 per cent of their international school students), compared with 583 students at school level in Australia in 2010, the closest competitor;
- International foundation courses are a popular alternative to GCE A-levels. At least 1,000 Hong Kong students are studying these courses, entering after Secondary 5, 6 or 7 under the old structure.
- Hong Kong is the seventh largest source of non-EU students in UK higher education. In 2009-10, numbers increased by 3 per cent, to 10,405 students. This is ahead of Australia with 5,153 students in 2010, and the US with 8,034 in 2009-10. Hong Kong is the UK’s fourth largest source of non-EU undergraduates. In 2009-10 the number of undergraduates from Hong Kong increased to 8,170.
- There were 2,245 students studying postgraduate courses in the UK in 2009-10.
- Hong Kong is the third leading market for UK courses taught overseas, with 24,135 students enrolled in 2009-10, behind Malaysia and Singapore (HESA). The UK has a 60 per cent market share of transnational education programmes in Hong Kong (EDB, June 2011). UK institutions offered 736 courses in Hong Kong, compared with 237 offered by Australia and 82 by the USA.
(Sources: HESA, IIE, AEI 2010, EDB)
There are many agents representing UK institutions, some long established. Australian institutions are also well-represented by agents. Agents are used by students for sourcing information about UK education, but not as much as the Internet, family and friends, and the British Council (according to the Student Insight survey).
Hong Kong offers opportunities for many sectors, due to its demand for independent school education, post-16 and further education, higher education (undergraduate, top-up degree and taught Master’s programmes) and in-country transnational education programmes. There is strong popular demand for English-medium education, regarded as important to ensure access to higher education and good career prospects. With places limited in Hong Kong many families continue to look to overseas alternatives, in particular to the UK.
Senior secondary reforms being phased in from 2009, the move to four-year degrees from 2012, and the “double cohort” in 2012 (when universities and colleges will be admitting the last Secondary Seven students completing Hong Kong A-levels and the first Secondary Six students completing the HKDSE) are increasing interest in overseas alternatives, as well as numbers seeking post-secondary pathways.
In January 2010, UCAS published the outcome of the tariff benchmarking study of the HKDSE, with the new qualification compared favourably with UK A-levels. The UK may enjoy a new competitive advantage of Hong Kong students can complete undergraduate courses there in three years after school matriculation rather than four in Hong Kong.
The HKDSE is graded under a standards-referenced system from Levels 1 to 5, with an additional 5* and 5** norm referenced to identify the top students. The UCAS Tariff has identified the HKDSE Level 3 as comparable to a UK A-level Grade E, Level 4 comparable to A-level Grade C, Level 5 comparable to A-level Grade A and Level 5* comparable to A or A*. Mathematics is dealt with separately, with similar outcomes when points for compulsory and extended papers are added together. There are no equivalences for Levels 2 and 1, and none for A-level Grades B and D. The outcome of this study should allow students achieving levels comparable to UK A-levels to be admitted directly to undergraduate programmes, whilst those achieving less may seek alternative pathways. More than 35 universities have now declared their admissions requirements for students completing the HKDSE. These can be found on the Hong Kong Examinations Authority website at http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/en/ir/ircountry_hkdse.html?1. Applied Learning Attained with Distinction, equivalent to a Level 3, is accepted by some universities.
For further information about the UCAS study and to access the Expert Group report visit HKEAA’s website at
http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/en/ir/Standards_of_HKEAA_qualifications/UCAS
For post-16 state and independent colleges, there is growing interest in intensive GCSEs, GCE A-levels, IB and one-year university access foundation courses. For further education, there is an interest in HNDs in subjects such as hotel, catering and tourism management; sports science; business and management studies, and a growing interest in art and design foundation courses. However, the majority of Hong Kong students in FE colleges pursue traditional academic courses such as A-levels, along with English-language courses, as well as international foundation courses.
The most popular courses at undergraduate level include business studies, accounting, social studies, design studies and economics. At postgraduate level, business; education; clinical medicine; social studies and law are most popular.
In general, the number of Hong Kong students studying at postgraduate level in the UK has been in decline since 2003 - this may be largely due to increasing local provision, including UK courses offered with local universities and private providers. The increase observed in 2009-10, may be partly due to the impact of the 2008 recession on graduate employment opportunities, as well as increased recognition of the value of an overseas study experience for employment prospects.
British Council Hong Kong moved to its purpose-built building, next to the British Consulate General, in 1996. It is one of the largest British Council centres in the worldwide network and provides a wide array of services, including UK education services, examinations, arts programmes and English teaching. These services are often co-ordinated to provide a one-stop-shop service to Hong Kong people. For example, we offer English preparation courses for IELTS (International English Language Testing System) candidates and free IELTS preparation online resources for those who registered to take the test with us, and education consultation services for candidates who want to use their IELTS result for application to UK education.
The British Council Hong Kong website that captures all our events and services attracts more than 70,000 visits a month, while our monthly newsletter What’s in it for you… is distributed to all customers of the British Council as well as to the general public via e-mail and website.
British Council Hong Kong organises a range of work in collaboration with the Education Bureau, which we hope will contribute to an overall improvement in the standard of English in Hong Kong, as well as a professional dialogue between policy-makers and educational practitioners in the UK and Hong Kong supporting the improvement of education.
We aim to provide a service to UK education providers and to Hong Kong stakeholders which will:
- profile UK education and its relevance to the development of education in Hong Kong;
- position the UK as a preferred partner for Hong Kong, by highlighting relevant UK excellence;
- promote strategic collaboration between Hong Kong and the UK's education communities and networks;
Hong Kong is one of the three markets where education promotion first began, in 1984. The first education exhibition was the clearing mission in August 1986. The British Council currently organises two annual Education UK exhibitions in Hong Kong, every August and January/February. The January/February exhibition attracted an average 80 institutions and 8,300 visitors in 2010 and 2011. The August event was attended by an average 59 institutions and 5,750 visitors in 2009 and 2010. The February 2009 exhibition was the first in Hong Kong to introduce a Transnational Education (TNE) zone to promote UK courses that could be studied locally. The council also organises the Education UK schools exhibition in October, for the schools and post-16 sector as well as seminars on UK education throughout the year.
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