ESF among 8 international school operators that failed to meet non-local student targets

Eight international school operators in Hong Kong, including the city’s largest group, failed to admit enough non-local students this academic year, breaching their pledge to the government.The English Schools Foundation (ESF) said it had been increasing the proportion of “non-local passport holders” since the end of the pandemic, but noted it might take several years to return to mandated levels after being allowed to admit more local students during that period.The Education Bureau told the South China Morning Post that the proportion of non-local students at some of the schools had fallen to as low as 39 per cent this academic year, compared with targets ranging from 50 to 98 per cent.According to official data from the bureau, 44,745 students are enrolled in international schools for the 2025-26 academic year.Among them are a record 15,142 local pupils, accounting for 34 per cent of the total and nearly double the 7,713 local pupils recorded in 2016-17, when they made up 20 per cent of the student body.The current proportion of local students is the fourth-highest in the past decade. The peak of 34.9 per cent occurred in 2023-24, reflecting admission cycles that began a year earlier while the pandemic was still affecting the city.