Hong Kong’s education minister has said the surge in students diagnosed with mental illness partly reflects parents’ growing acceptance and openness about the issue, while academic pressures, social lives and physical health also play a role.The remarks by Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin came after the Education Bureau revealed that the number of secondary school students suffering from mental illness had doubled over the past five academic years, from 660 in 2020-21 to 1,330 in 2024-25.In primary schools, the number of students diagnosed with mental illness also rose from 130 to 200 in the same period, a 54 per cent increase.
SRCSouth China Morning Post
LANGEN
LEANCenter-Right
WORDS102
ENT3
THU · 2026-04-16 · 09:23 GMTBRIEF NSR-2026-0416-69959
NSR-2026-0416-69959News Report·EN·Public Health
Rise in mental illness cases among Hong Kong students ‘reflects growing openness’
Hong Kong has seen a significant increase in reported mental illness cases among students in recent years. According to the Education Bureau, the number of secondary school students diagnosed with mental illness doubled between the 2020-21 and 2024-25 academic years, reaching 1,330.
William YiuSouth China Morning PostFiled 2026-04-16 · 09:23 GMTLean · Center-RightRead · 1 min
South China Morning PostFIG 01
Reading time
1min
Word count
102words
Sources cited
1cited
Entities identified
3entities
Quality score
100%
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Briefing Summary
AI-generatedNEWSAR · AI
Hong Kong has seen a significant increase in reported mental illness cases among students in recent years. According to the Education Bureau, the number of secondary school students diagnosed with mental illness doubled between the 2020-21 and 2024-25 academic years, reaching 1,330. Primary school cases also rose during the same period, increasing by 54% to 200 students. Education Minister Christine Choi Yuk-lin attributed the rise, in part, to increased parental awareness and acceptance of mental health issues. She also noted that academic pressures, social lives, and physical health contribute to the problem among students in Hong Kong.
Confidence 0.85Sources 1Claims 4Entities 3
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Article analysis
Model · rule-basedFraming
Public Health
Human Interest
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AI-assessed
CalmNeutralAlarmist
Factuality
0.70 / 1.00
Factual
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Sources cited
1
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Key claims
4 extracted01
In primary schools, the number of students diagnosed with mental illness also rose from 130 to 200 in the same period.
statisticEducation Bureau
Confidence
1.00
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The number of secondary school students suffering from mental illness had doubled over the past five academic years.
statisticEducation Bureau
Confidence
1.00
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Academic pressures, social lives and physical health also play a role in student mental illness.
quoteSecretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin
Confidence
0.90
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The surge in students diagnosed with mental illness partly reflects parents’ growing acceptance and openness about the issue.
quoteSecretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin
Confidence
0.80
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Full report
1 min read · 102 words§ 05
Entities
3 identifiedKey playerOppositionContextPositiveNeutralNegative
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Keywords & salience
8 termsmental illness
1.00
students
0.90
hong kong
0.80
academic pressure
0.70
openness
0.60
education bureau
0.50
primary schools
0.40
secondary school
0.40
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