By William Yiu
Hong Kong鈥檚 public universities will push to enrol more 鈥渜uality overseas students鈥 to ensure greater diversity on campuses, a minister has said, after mainland Chinese candidates made up more than 70 per cent of their first-year, non-local undergraduates in the 2024-25 academic year.
Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin also said that four local universities had sent 36 offers to those affected by the United States鈥 recent policy changes for international students, noting they had received about 850 related inquiries.
In an interview with local media outlets last Friday, she said the non-local student admission quotas for the city鈥檚 eight publicly funded universities, which are currently capped at 40 per cent and total about 30,000 places, could be gradually increased.
She said that local authorities would negotiate with China鈥檚 Ministry of Education, adding that the 40 per cent threshold was 鈥渘ot a limit鈥.
鈥淚n the long run, if our supporting facilities are ready and all admission spots are full, similar to the keen competition this year, we will look at the situation and move forward step by step,鈥 she said.
Choi said there was no time frame for increasing the proportion of non-local students at public universities, noting the institutions had yet to use up the current quota.
鈥淪ome universities have not used up the quota as their supporting facilities, such as their student dormitories and teaching and learning facilities, and the teaching staff are not ready,鈥 she said.
In 2024-25, the number of non-local students at public universities was 17,161, accounting for about 23 per cent of local student places. Of that figure, 12,386 were from the mainland.
For that same year, the proportion of non-local students at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) stood at 30.1 per cent, while the levels for Polytechnic University, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Lingnan University were 28.6 per cent, 25.8 per cent and 22.8 per cent, respectively.
In his 2023 policy address, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the enrolment ceiling for non-local students at the eight public universities would be doubled to 40 per cent of the local intake, starting from 2024-2025.
The Post earlier reported that mainland students accounted for 74 per cent of the city鈥檚 pool of non-local, first-year students in 2024-25, up from 71 per cent in 2023-24 and marked the continuation of a rising trend.
In terms of non-local undergraduate students of all years at the eight universities in 2024-25, mainlanders made up 72 per cent, up from 71 per cent in the previous academic year.
Choi said universities had become more mindful of the number of overseas students compared with those from the mainland, Taiwan and Macau.
鈥淯nder the principle of selecting the best, they will encourage more quality overseas students to come to Hong Kong,鈥 she said.
But the minister stressed that picking the best candidates was still the priority and that this would not be sacrificed to ensure greater diversity on campuses.
Choi noted that four public universities had sent 36 offers to candidates who had been affected by the US鈥 recent tightened policy on international students.
Sixteen of the offers had come from HKU, 15 from HKUST, three from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and two from Lingnan University.
Choi also confirmed reports that the Education Bureau had issued verbal reminders to schools to refrain from promoting US Independence Day celebrations on campuses.
But she said the reminders were made during some discussions with schools in relation to a circular on national security, which did not target consulate activities.
A Facebook page named 鈥淓du Lancet鈥 earlier said schools had received reminders from the bureau that students taking part in US Independence Day events could be at risk of violating the city鈥檚 national security laws.
The US consulate in Hong Kong later criticised local authorities for what it described as a 鈥渞epression鈥 of such events.
Asked if students could join such activities in the future, Choi questioned the need to attend.
鈥淵ou have to think about why you have to go to this activity? 鈥 We have to see how it relates to learning,鈥 she said.