Hong Kong: Emigration of Young Families and Low Birthrate Resulting in the Closure of More Than 20 Kindergartens Each Year

Twenty four Hong Kong kindergartens closed in 2022, and at least another 20 are expected to close down this year. The picture shows pupils lining up in front of a Hong Kong kindergarten on Dec. 21, 2022. Sung Pi-Lung/The Epoch Times

A Hong Kong elite kindergarten with a long-standing history of nearly 60 years, Kentville Kindergarten, located in the upper-class district of Kowloon Tong, will no longer accept applications for K1 admission starting next school year. It will take three school years to go gradually toward a complete closure by the end of the school year of 2025/26.

Miss W. H. Wong, the founder cum supervisor of Kentville Kindergarten, stated clearly that the reasons for its closure include the dropping of Hong Kong’s birth rate to a historic low, as well as the trend of massive emigration of Hong Kong’s young families who are the target customers of the kindergarten. Members from the education sector have pointed out that the sector’s future is not favorable, and at least 20 schools will close down in the coming year.

Analyses attribute the decrease in school intake to the Hong Kong government’s implementation of the National Security Law education.

The Epoch Times looks at the statistics of Hong Kong’s birth rates, population at suitable childbearing age, and school-age population in the coming few years, all of which are declining. This indicates that the bitter winter Hong Kong kindergartens are now undergoing for enrolment sees no end in the short term.

*Provisional figures Source: The Census and Statistics Department Graphics by The Epoch Times

In response to media inquiries, the Education Bureau (EDB) revealed that 24 kindergartens had closed in the last school year of 2022/23, accounting for about 2 percent of all kindergartens in Hong Kong.

The vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, Choi Lai-fong, commented earlier that the prospects of the sector are not optimistic, with some of the kindergartens having secured an enrollment only one-third of that before the COVID-19 pandemic while some possibly encountering operational and financial difficulties. Ms. Choi estimated that at least 20 schools will close in the next year.

Apart from Kentville Kindergarten, which is recently planning to shut down, another two kindergartens, namely Bilok Anglo-Chinese Kindergarten in Sheung Shui and Wise Le Sage Anglo-Chinese Kindergarten in Shau Kei Wan, have been accused by the EDB of failing to prove their operational and financial management to be satisfactory. The EDB revoked their eligibility to join the Kindergarten Education Scheme in the current school year.

Population Aged 0-4 Dropped by 2.5 Percent in Five Years

Ms. Wong said that since 2019, the decline in student enrollment has become a problem that cannot be ignored. Kentville Kindergarten has an intake of 300 new K1 students for the current school year, a 40 percent decrease from 500 in the school year of 2022/23.

With the falling birth rate and emigration of youngsters, Hong Kong’s infant and toddler population has been decreasing. In mid-2018, Hong Kong’s population aged 0-4 once rebounded to 267,800 but then went down to 201,500 in mid-2023—a decrease of 25 percent.

For a detailed look at age, the number of children turning three in the middle of this year being eligible to enter kindergarten is 46,200, the lowest in recent years. A further look at the kindergarten enrollment figures in the next three years doesn’t look optimistic.

*Provisional figures Source: The Census and Statistics Department Graphics by The Epoch Times

The population currently aged two and is supposed to enroll in kindergarten next year is only 38,200. The population aged one this year expected to enter kindergarten two years later is as low as 35,500.

5 Primary Schools Denied of Operating Government-Subsidized P1 Classes

The under-enrollment problem has spread to primary schools. According to the existing government-formulated criteria for a primary school to operate classes, a public sector primary school with a total intake of less than 16 students under the Primary One Admission (POA) System may not be allowed to operate government-subsidized Primary 1(P1) classes if there are still unfilled P1 places in other schools of the same school net within a demarcated district.

The EDB revealed in May this year that five primary schools have been denied government subsidies for operating P1 classes, which implies that the schools would be facing eventual closure. These five schools said to lose subsidies include Po Yan Oblate Primary School, Confucian Tai Shing Primary School in Wong Tai Sin district, and Cheung Chau Church Kam Kong Primary School run by The Church of Christ in China on Cheung Chau Island.

Fertility Rate Plunged by 30 Percent in Five Years, Birthrate Drops to 0.7 Per Female

In fact, in the latest State of World Population Report 2023 released by the United Nations Population Fund in April this year, Hong Kong has been named as having the lowest fertility rate in the world. The figure cited in the Report was that in 2020–every Hong Kong female gave birth to only 0.8 children. According to the most updated figures from the Census and Statistics Department, every 1,000 Hong Kong females give birth to only 701 babies in 2022, or 0.7 births per woman.

Government data shows that Hong Kong’s fertility rate has declined in recent years. Such a dropping trend has become far more severe than in previous years after the anti-extradition movement in 2019 and the imposition by the China Communist Party of enactment of the Hong Kong National Security Law in 2020.

Source: The Census and Statistics Department. Graphics by The Epoch Times

The Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics published by the Census and Statistics Department in February this year pointed out that the percentage of married women (excluding foreign domestic helpers) has dropped significantly over the past 30 years. In 1991, 56 percent of women aged 25 to 29 were married, but this proportion fell to 19 percent in 2021.

Women are marrying at a later age, with the median age for first marriage rising from 26.2 years old in 1991 to 30.6 years old in 2021. The Census and Statistics Department pointed out that delaying marriage will shorten a woman’s reproductive period.

In addition, the percentage of never-married women in the 40 to 44 age group (excluding foreign domestic workers) increased from 6 percent in 1991 to 20 percent in 2021.

The Census and Statistics Department also pointed out that some of the reasons for the decline in fertility rates in recent years - the fertility rates of married women aged 30 to 34 and 35 to 39 increased from 103.6 and 35.2 babies per 1,000 women respectively in 1991 to 154.2 and 79.2 babies in 2016, but then dropped to 121.8 and 61.4 in 2021. Massive Emigration of Young Families

Provisional figures issued by The Census and Statistics Department. (Graphics by The Epoch Times

Even though the Hong Kong government does not compile statistics on emigration, the fact that Miss Wong pointed out the trend of massive emigration of Hong Kong’s young families could be evidenced by the Hong Kong population at suitable childbearing age.

According to statistics compiled by The Epoch Times on the Hong Kong population at an age usually suitable for childbearing, the number of males and females aged 20 to 39 has been falling repeatedly since 2019. Although the population of some age groups bounced back slightly in 2022, such a rebound still cannot make up for the previous decline.

Looking at the situation of women, the female population aged 25 to 39 in mid-2023 has hit a new low in recent years and has not rebounded at all from the last low level at the end of 2022.

To Kit: It’s the Impact of Imposing Education on Hong Kong National Security Law

Hong Kong veteran current affairs commentator and critic Chip Tsao (pen name To Kit) posted on Facebook on Sept. 23, mentioning the principle of education as cultivating children’s inquisitive spirit of “asking questions about everything” and fostering their curiosity and eagerness to learn. To answer why retired teachers and parents are flocking to emigrate, To Kit wrote, “Because the Hong Kong Government is ‘ubiquitously flooding’ kindergartens with national security education.”

To Kit said, “Even if the mothers are celebrities or well-known figures, their children, apart from learning in kindergarten good habits like washing hands before eating, are still required to learn to report words or deeds of their teachers or classmates that endanger national security, if they see any.”

Provisional figures issued by The Census and Statistics Department. (Graphics by The Epoch Times

To Kit said that the above-mentioned renowned mothers are echoing the call of “Leave if you don’t like it” and have embarked on an early exit for the UK with their British National (Overseas) visas to seek an alternative journey for their children to “win at the starting line”.

Implementing National Security Education in Kindergartens

Shortly after the enactment of the Hong Kong National Security Law in 2020, the EDB issued a notice to all primary and secondary schools in July 2021 to remind them of their obligation to enable school staff and students to understand and abide by the National Security Law. The EDB also said it would conduct school visits and organize “teacher learning circles.”

Later, in 2021, the EDB issued a circular to all kindergartens offering local curriculums, saying that starting from July, seven books written by mainland scholars on the Law Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong would be distributed to kindergartens as reference books for teachers. Teachers were reminded to help children understand that Hong Kong is part of China and their identity is Chinese, and to enable them to deepen their understanding and responsibilities in safeguarding national security.

The abstract of the Readers describes that “One Country, Two Systems” has attained unprecedented success since the handover of Hong Kong’s sovereignty. The abstract also depicts the anti-extradition movement in 2019 as acts of defying China and disrupting Hong Kong, a color revolution, black violence, and a push for Hong Kong independence.

By National Security Education Day 2023, close to 400 primary school students in Wong Tai Sin District had been trained by the pro-establishment organizations to become “little teachers on national security,” and went to kindergartens to tell toddlers “national security stories.”