The Education Bureau announced on Tuesday that 39 Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) schools were approved to increase tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year, with a growth rate of 4.64 percent, including some traditional prestigious schools.
The bureau had received applications for fee increases from 40 DSS schools this year, 13 fewer than last year.
Among them, Diocesan Boys' School and St. Paul's Co-educational College raised their tuition fees by 5.8 percent. Diocesan Girls' School is increasing its fees by 5 percent this year, following a 5.3 percent increase last year.
There are three DSS schools approved with an increase rate between 5.81 percent and 10 percent, including Mu Kuang English School, which increased Secondary one tuition fees by 10 percent to HK$2,200.
However, some top schools that raised tuition fees last year did not apply for adjustments, such as St. Paul's College and Ying Wa College.
Dion Chen, chairman of the Hong Kong Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council, said the raised tuition fees would be used to cover administrative expenses, teacher salaries, and school activities.
In response to the latest policy address mentioning that DSS schools are allowed to apply for increasing the number of non-local students, Chen said he had not received any official documents from the authorities about the details.
He noted that increasing non-local students is helpful for DSS schools to build the "Study in Hong Kong" brand, rather than only for growing student numbers and income.
