Another rise in the cap on non-local students in Hong Kong has heightened fears about the strain expansion is placing on universities, with institutions being urged to further diversify intakes to avoid “mainlandisation”.
Chief executive John Lee last month announced that from the 2026-27 academic year, the proportion of self-financing non-local students permitted on taught programmes at publicly funded institutions will increase from 40 to 50 per cent.
It is the second such rise in recent years after the cap increased from 20 to 40 per cent in September 2024.
Although vice-chancellors have stressed they are aiming for balanced intakes – and recent moves by the US to restrict international student numbers have created new opportunities – the vast majority of non-local students in Hong Kong still come from mainland China.
William?Yat?Wai Lo, a professor at?Durham University’s School of Education, said the policy was likely to reinforce?Hong Kong’s reliance on the mainland.
“The policy is clearly aimed at attracting students from mainland China. Hong Kong has long been a gateway between China and the world, and mainland students have traditionally been the largest group of international applicants,” he said.
While this was consistent with global trends, he warned it could alter Hong Kong’s higher education landscape.
“We are already seeing more students – and increasingly more academic staff – coming from mainland China, a phenomenon sometimes described as the ‘mainlandisation’ of Hong Kong’s campuses. This can have positive effects, as many of these students and staff are highly competent and bring valuable expertise.
“However, it may also blur the distinctiveness of Hong Kong’s higher education identity compared with that of the mainland.”
Gerard Postiglione, emeritus professor at the University of Hong Kong, said expanding the pool of applicants was a chance to?diversify intakes and enhance the quality of education.
“The breadth and diversity of experiences that students bring with them to university matter. If they only meet students like themselves on campus, they might as well stay home,” he told 糖心Vlog.
“The expansion of the pool of applicants will improve the quality of higher learning because students learn as much from one another as from their professors.”
Postiglione said this was particularly important in a small city such as Hong Kong. “Their future will hinge on their ability to engage effectively with people from around the world,” he added.
But Durham’s Lo said that although the government had promised to maintain 15,000 subsidised places for local students, overall student numbers would still increase.
“This will inevitably put pressure on facilities and resources, including staff. I’ve heard from former colleagues in Hong Kong that some institutions already issue second contracts to staff to take on extra teaching loads. This raises concerns about quality,” he said, adding that accommodation and classroom space could also be affected.
“There will likely be more competition for resources, even though the guaranteed funded places for local students are unchanged. This could affect access to on-campus accommodation and increase class sizes, which can be challenging for both local and non-local students,”?Lo said.
Mathew Seymour, professor in biological sciences at the University of Hong Kong, suggested the expansion was also financially driven. “I imagine they are increasing the quota to?draw in more tuition funds, which non-locals pay more for?– and as most universities are likely to try and increase their intake given the economic volatility in recent years,” he said.
Seymour agreed that the mainland would remain the main source of students.
“Hong Kong relies on a lot of mainland student inflow?– which I suspect is where this will draw most of their non-local students from. You can see a shift in focus via HKU’s refined curriculum as well, which some might consider as drawing closer to central government policies.”
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