More than 15pc of teens have considered suicide, study finds

A report from the Hong Kong Nang Yan College of Higher Education looking at life education in local schools found that more than 15 percent of teenage students had considered attempting suicide.

Among 225 parents of senior primary and secondary school children surveyed, more than 15 percent of them revealed that their children had expressed suicidal or self-harming thoughts.

The study also found that 5 percent of the parents reported their children felt "worthless" and "hopeless" in life.

Meanwhile, 90 percent of the parents believe that life education provided by schools is insufficient, with another 50 percent feeling that there is limited information and books available on life education in the community, making it difficult to find suitable life education resources.

Speaking to the press this morning, Pandora Ho Lai-ha of the Student Guidance Association said parents are usually aware of the deviation in their children's values regarding life but struggle to find relevant teaching materials or resources to help them.

The quality of such information online also varies, leading to life education becoming little more than empty talk.