Hong Kong’s education chief vows university fee increases will be gradual and take students’ finances into account
Hong Kong's education minister has pledged that planned increases in university tuition fees will be carried out gradually, taking into account the financial burden on students
Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin said the government would adopt a “very pragmatic” approach when phasing in the rise in bachelor’s degree fees at the city’s eight publicly funded universities.
“We will not aggressively increase the fees in one go,” she told the Post in a wide-ranging interview. “We will consider Hong Kong’s economic situation and the affordability for families and the young. It should be done gradually for them to afford it.”
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Undergraduates at the eight universities currently pay HK$42,100 (US$5,380) annually, an amount that has been frozen for 27 years. According to the University Grants Committee, which allocates funding to the universities, the cost recovery rate slipped from 18 per cent in the 2012-13 financial year to 13.3 per cent in 2022-23.
Read more : South China Morning Post