International School Places

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enrolled in international schools student raised over past few years (shown in Chart 1), although the number of non-local international school students is continuously increasing (shown in Chart 6.5). It reveals that the growth of number of local children surpasses non-local children in international schools. Thus, a rapid increase in number of local children studying in international schools is a cause of the problem. Currently, 69.4% students in ESF schools were permanent residents of Hong Kong, 17.8% did not hold a foreign passport. (Refer to case study A)

Chart 1:

Increase in number of local children studying in international schools can be explained by the reasons shown on the table.

Source: Study report, Provision of International School Places in Primary and Secondary Levels in Hong Kong,

Education Bureau, Dec. 2012

The more flexible and interactive learning, and the higher English instruction of international schools are the two main factors of some local parents prefer international schools to local schools.

In short, there are more and more local parents sending their children to international schools. Simultaneously, international schools persist in retaining its class size (see 5.2.3). Therefore, the increasing number of applicants makes the competition for places more intense. The problem of a lack of international school places worsens.

5.2 How does the problem affect the social development and quality of education in Hong Kong?

5.2.1 Effects on children of expatriates

The original purpose of setting up international schools is to provide expat children international curriculum so that they can continue education in their host countries at any time. Nonetheless, owing to the lack of international school places, not all expat children are able to enroll in international schools.

Kaya, the daughter of Amanda Chapman, was not given the chance to be interviewed after drawing of lots, despite the fact that she belongs to the *first category. However, an applicant who is a local student was interviewed (refer to case study C). That being the case, the phenomenon of more local international schools applicants makes the competition for places more intense. Therefore, the chance of expat children getting into international schools is lowered.

* Candidate whose mother tongue is English, and he/she and his/her family are illiterate in Chinese.

As international schools and local schools are out of their reach, they can only resort to homeschooling, like Kai (son of Jessica) (refer to case study C). Unfortunately, parents may not be experienced teachers. Time for learning can be limiting too, as parents may mostly go to work. Also, educational facilities may not be as excellent and adequate as that of international schools. ESF schools provide laboratories, concert hall, etc., which expat parents cannot easily get access to. Besides, ESF schools offer International Baccalaureate (IB), a rigid curriculum, which can be studied in any parts of the world. (Refer to case study A) In the above aspects, studying in international schools win homeschooling in quality of education.

5.2.2 Effects on local students

The government has implemented Native-speaking English Teacher (NET) Scheme since 1998. It aims to enhance the teaching of English and increase exposure of local students to English. However, neither a secure international place nor educational allowance is given to the NETs’ children. Then, potential NETs, especially those with children, are scared away by the lack of places.

According to Perry Bayer, an NET employed in 1998, initially, the employed NETs were elites and understood Chinese and western cultures. It is because at that time the lack of international school places did not exist, accordingly, no competition appeared (refer to case study C). Nevertheless, the problem is now discouraging other elite foreign teachers to come. The quality of NET, thus, declines, which directly harms local students’ learning of English. Local students lack opportunity to communicate well with NET and develop a better English speaking skill.

It might be a reason explaining local students’ deteriorating performance in Education First’s English Proficiency Index since 2007. In 2014, Shanghai and Beijing for the first time exceeded Hong Kong (ranked 31; 52.5).

Furthermore, the shortage of international school places limits the choice of schools. Addition to the current category system, which local students may be filtered out, lack of places further reduces the possibility of enrolling in international schools. Thus, for some local students, they may not enjoy the desired education in international schools. The choice of schools is then limited to public sector schools and Direct Subsidized Schools.

5.2.3 Effects on international school students

The quality of education of international school students are unaffected by the shortage of international school places. This is because average class size (illustrated in Charts 3.6, 3.7) and student-teacher ratio of most international schools are stable. Successful applicants are placed on waiting lists if all places are filled up. Therefore, international school students are not harmed.

Source: Study report, Provision of International School Places in Primary and Secondary Levels in Hong Kong,

Education Bureau, Dec. 2012

5.3 How does the problem affect the economic development in Hong Kong?

5.3.1 Loss of foreign expatriates

Till 2013, over 301,000 expats lived in Hong Kong (0.6% of global expats). 21.6% with employment visas had on average 1.58 school-age children. However, the lack of places erects barriers to attract and retain overseas talents.

Three *chambers of commerce in Hong Kong, that conducted a survey to investigate employers’ and expatriates’ opinions on the shortage of international school places, are studied. Over half respondents in all survey believe that the inability to readily access a high quality