立法會議員、教聯會副會長 鄧飛

For years, Hong Kong’s education debate has been dominated by a single statistic: the declining birth rate. This demographic shift has triggered school closures and endless discussions over how to keep campuses open.

However, this diagnosis misses the larger crisis: the gradual erosion of the city’s teaching profession. As enrolment falls and schools shrink, teachers lose career prospects. Experienced educators leave, institutional knowledge disappears and collaborative school cultures that took decades to build are permanently lost.

Some have suggested importing more non-local students to fill empty classrooms and provide stability. While this appears sensible on paper, it offers only a partial, uncertain solution. Hong Kong cannot independently determine the flow of cross-border students, as it depends heavily on immigration policies and regional cooperation.

Furthermore, substantially increasing the proportion of non-local students risks fuelling concerns among local families over competition for educational resources. A policy meant to stabilise schools should not come at the cost of public confidence.

Instead of looking outwards, Hong Kong should look north. The Northern Metropolis is more than an infrastructure project; it represents the largest demographic shift the city will experience in decades.

Government plans envisage a population of about 2.5 million. These new residents will bring families, children and long-term demand for schools. Unlike administratively importing students, this educational demand will emerge naturally from economic development and population growth, making it far more sustainable, predictable and likely to command broad public support.

Therefore, education must be treated as critical infrastructure from the outset, rather than a supporting service. The government should reserve sufficient sites for kindergartens, primary and secondary schools as an integral part of early planning. Rather than allow schools in other districts to decline until they become unsustainable, the authorities could permit eligible schools to relocate to the Northern Metropolis.

This would provide a durable solution for preserving Hong Kong’s teaching workforce. Young teachers would see viable long-term careers and veteran educators could transfer their expertise to new communities.

Ultimately, cities compete through people and talent chooses where to live based partly on school quality. By aligning educational planning with the growth of the Northern Metropolis, Hong Kong can protect its teaching profession and ensure new communities are built around high-quality schools, strengthening its competitiveness for decades to come.

2026年8月11日(南華早報)