Long Waiting Lists for Schools Dampens Hong Kong as Financial Hub

As more global businesses are sprouting up in Asia, Hong Kong is having a drastic shortage of vacancies in international schools.

Some business executives fear it could dampen Hong Kong’s competitive edge as a financial center—in favor of regional rivals like Singapore and Malaysia.

The current shortage is especially critical for primary school spots in top schools.

[Fiona Hunt, British Parent]:
"You can't imagine the difficulty until you physically get here. You hear the stories day in and day out of all the people who have to go back home because they literally can't find a place for their child."

The demand for international schooling has increased tremendously in recent years.

[Heather Du Quesnay, Chief Executive, English Schools Foundation]:
"Last year we had very nearly 2,000 applications for about 1,000 places in year one, that's for five-year-olds. And for year seven in the secondary schools…we had about 350 applications for only 100 places."

A recent survey by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong shows that the difficulty to access high quality international schooling is affecting businesses negatively.

Some companies have restricted their foreign staff to single or childless applicants.

The Hong Kong government is trying to ease the dilemma by creating an extra 5,000 school places over the next few years. But some say the government needs to do much more.

[Robert Chipman, Hong Kong American Chamber of Commerce]:
"It's critical. If you don't get that right, or if we can't offer that to people considering coming to Hong Kong, they'll go to Singapore, they'll go to Shanghai, or they'll stay put. So it's an absolute deal-breaker."

As Hong Kong is grappling to meet the demand, the Malaysian, Thai, and South Korean governments are gearing up to become educational hubs—to attract and retain top global talents especially in the banking and professional services.