Policy Address 2026: Education Bureau Launches "Convergence and Upgrade Scheme"; Aided Schools and Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools May Merge to "Grow Bigger and Stronger"

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The structural decline in the school-age population cannot be reversed in the short term. Hong Kong's first Five-Year Plan states that the layout of educational resources should be optimised, and efforts to encourage and support sponsoring bodies in merging primary and secondary schools should be intensified. The Policy Address reveals that the "Convergence and Upgrade Scheme" will be launched this academic year to remove policy barriers and encourage schools under different funding modes to merge.

📋 Five-Year Plan: Promoting Primary and Secondary Schools to "Grow Bigger and Stronger" and Accelerating Resource Consolidation
The Five-Year Plan proposes that Hong Kong should "optimise the mechanism for allocating educational resources in line with demographic changes," strengthen dynamic adjustment and reallocation of surplus and shortfall in basic education resources, and promote quality primary and secondary schools to "grow bigger and stronger." It also calls for accelerating the consolidation of resources among small-scale schools to create synergies and turn them into schools that combine scale, quality and efficiency. The new Policy Address announces the launch of the "Convergence and Upgrade Scheme" within this academic year to encourage and support the merger of suitable aided primary and secondary schools. Sources say the authorities will remove policy barriers and consider mergers across funding modes, meaning aided schools may seek to merge with Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) schools, and "one school, two campuses" arrangements may also be considered. The new scheme is not one of the development options for schools with insufficient student intake, and there will be an application threshold. When approving applications, the authorities will consider various factors, including whether primary schools can arrange "neighbourhood schooling" as far as possible.

🏛️ Government Schools Not Participating in New Scheme Due to Different Systems
Sources say the government's school-saving measures have been "exhausted," and the new policy focuses on the overall quality of schools rather than maintaining the number of schools. The authorities will propose "attractive options" and additional support for merged schools. As for government schools under the Education Bureau, sources say that due to different systems, only mergers between government schools will be considered at this stage, and they will not participate in the new scheme. This academic year, 15 primary schools were allocated "zero classes."

🤝 Cheung Yung-bong: Provides Incentives for DSS Schools; Tuition and Provident Fund Issues Must Be Resolved
Cheung Yung-bong, Honorary Chairman of the Association of Aided Primary School Heads, said individual schools had previously advocated cross-mode mergers and believed the new scheme had incorporated such views. He analysed that the "Convergence and Upgrade Scheme" provides incentives for DSS schools intending to expand, using mergers with aided schools to "expand capacity," but several key issues must first be resolved: "Will students originally studying at aided schools have to pay tuition after the merger, or will they be allowed to study free of charge?" The second issue is teacher benefits—aided school teachers participate in the Grant Schools Provident Fund, while newly hired teachers at DSS schools must join the MPF. He believes the authorities must provide policy support. He added that many schools operate only one Primary One class and called on sponsoring bodies and schools to prepare early.

💬 Cheung Tsok-fong: Technical Problems Not Major; Premise Is Teacher Acceptance and Transitional Arrangements
Cheung Tsok-fong, Chairperson of the Subsidised Primary Schools Council, described the new scheme as "opening the door" for mergers between schools under different funding modes. Regarding the impact of mergers on teacher benefits, she considered it similar to changing jobs, with technical problems not being major, but the premise is that teachers can accept it, and transitional arrangements should be set up so that all stakeholders can clearly understand and adapt. She believes that mergers between aided schools and DSS schools are not unfeasible, but stakeholder communication must be well handled.

🏫 Cheng Kin-tak: Suggests Transitional Period Allowing Aided School Students to Study Free of Charge
Cheng Kin-tak, Principal of United Christian College (Kowloon East), said it is possible that some DSS schools may participate in cross-funding-mode mergers, but the arrangement would have a greater impact on aided schools. He suggested the authorities provide a transitional period so that students originally studying at aided schools would not have to pay tuition for a certain number of years. He also considered that the authorities' push for "strong-strong alliances"—merging two "strong schools" into one "super school"—may not be realistic, and that "medium-medium alliances" or "strong-medium alliances" would be better.