A Hong Kong government-funded online education portal has failed to meet user targets, with thousands of resources never downloaded or used, according to an Audit Commission report. The executive director of Hong Kong Education City told the commission that low usage stems from the city's shrinking student population. The report, released on Wednesday, highlights this as a main criticism.
The Audit Commission report reveals that Hong Kong Education City's online portal failed to meet its user number targets. It found that 272 teaching resources were never downloaded, about 20 were not viewed at all, and more than 2,700 online assessment items for teachers were never used.
EdCity's executive director told the Audit Commission that the platform's low usage is due to Hong Kong's shrinking student population. The portal launched four electronic resource products in 2015, including the eRead Scheme, offering primary and secondary students subscription access to over 5,000 Chinese and English e-books.
In 2023-24, EdCity recorded total income of HK$64.6 million (US$8.2 million) and expenditure of HK$64.5 million. Low usage of electronic resources formed one of the report's main criticisms.
Keywords reference Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin and executive director Ken Ngai Yuen-keung, though the report centers on resource utilization.
