Hong Kong's public universities admitted 65 non-local students with Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) qualifications in 2025-26, a fivefold increase over four years, the Education Bureau said. Local DSE candidates qualifying for these universities fell by 5 per cent in the same period. The trend has sparked concerns over social mobility.
The Education Bureau said on Tuesday that the number of non-local students admitted to government-funded degree programmes at Hong Kong’s public universities with DSE qualifications rose from 13 in 2022-23 to 20 in 2023-24, then to 43 the following year, reaching 65 in 2025-26.
Over the same four years, admissions of non-local students with non-DSE qualifications increased by 15 per cent, from 3,919 to 6,456. These students pay higher tuition fees.
In contrast, the number of local DSE candidates receiving places at public universities fell from 12,178 in 2022-23 to 11,501 in the current school year, a 5 per cent decline.
The bureau provided the figures in a reply to the legislature’s Finance Committee, which is vetting the city’s latest budget. The developments have raised concerns regarding social mobility.