Hong Kong University received about 8,016 mainland applications, a big drop from the 12,011 for the last academic year, while the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology recorded a 30 percent fall.

HKUST international and mainland student and program office head (student unit) Zhu Lijing said applications declined from 6,500 in 2007 to 4,600 last year and that the figure continued to drop 30 percent to 3,200 this year.

"Mainland students rushed to apply for Hong Kong universities over the past few years. But knowing that the threshold for admission and scholarship is not as low as they expected, some became more prudent, causing applications to drop," Zhu said.

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The global financial crisis and the HK$80,000 per year charge, which is double that for local students, have likewise been blamed for the decline.

Four years of study here can cost up to HK$500,000 - eight times higher than in the mainland.

Hong Kong Shue Yan University - the first private university in the territory since 2007 - said applications dropped by half from 400 in 2008-09 to 200 this year.

The university, which charges HK$490,000 a year, is admitting 50 students from the mainland this year, compared to 70 last year.

Applications for Hong Kong Baptist University dropped 22 percent from 4,500 applications to 3,500 and Hong Kong Polytechnic University reported a 28 percent decline from 5,000 to 3,600.

A mainland HKU economics and finance graduate, who declined to be named, said some mainland students gave up studying in Hong Kong due to the high expenses.

Meanwhile, Secretary for Education Michael Suen Ming- yeung said the government will finance the Hong Kong Institute of Education's 120 bachelor degree and 30 post- graduate quotas by injecting an extra HK$22 million every year. The institute will open three new courses, including language and literature, creative art and culture, humanities and social science. Recruitment will begin at the end of this year.