Education, Hong Kong

Hong Kong University

Hong Kong's education system roughly follows the system in England, although at the higher education levels, both English and American systems exist.  The medium of instruction is mainly spoken Cantonese, written Chinese and English, but Mandarin language education has been increasing.  The Programme for International Student Assessment, has ranked Hong Kong's education system as the second best in the world.

Hong Kong's public schools are operated by the Education Bureau.  The system features a non-compulsory three-year kindergarten, followed by a compulsory six-year primary education, a three-year junior secondary education, a non-compulsory two-year senior secondary education leading to the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examinations, and a two-year matriculation course leading to the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examinations. However, starting from the year 2006 of Form 1, all students receive 3 years of compulsory junior and 3 years of compulsory senior secondary education.  Most comprehensive schools in Hong Kong fall under three categories: the rarer public schools; the more common subsidized schools, including government aids and grant schools; and private schools often run by Christian organisations...having admissions based on academic merit rather than on financial resources.  Outside this system are the schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme and private international schools.

There are nine public universities in Hong Kong, and a number of private higher institutions, offering various bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees, other higher diplomas and associate degree courses.  The University of Hong Kong, the oldest institution of tertiary education in the territory, was referred to by Quacquarelli Symonds as a "world-class comprehensive research university" and was ranked 24th on the 2009 THES - QS World University Rankings...putting it 1st in Asia.  The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology are ranked 35th and 46th respectively, giving them a 2nd and 4th ranking respectively in Asia.