The new school merger scheme in the Policy Address is not a lifeline for shrinking schools but a push to pool resources for better education, said Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin.
Under the proposal, the Education Bureau will launch the “Confluence and Elevation – School Excellence Project” in the 2026/27 school year to support mergers of suitable publicly-funded primary and secondary schools.
In a statement on Thursday, Choi explained that the plan will offer financial and resource incentives, cutting red tape for schools to pool resources early.
"We want to enhance the allocation of the city’s education resources, develop quality education in response to parents' demand for quality schools," she said.
With the school-age population changing, Choi called for early planning and orderly adjustment of school numbers and warned against rushed mergers.
A review of government school planning is underway, she said, aiming to combine resources and raise the quality of primary and secondary education.
Government sources also said that eligible schools joining the scheme could merge with direct-subsidy schools (DSS) to form a new DSS School with access to both campuses.
