A total of 86 suspected suicide deaths involving primary and secondary school students were reported to the Education Bureau over the three academic years from 2023/24 to 2025/26, Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin said.
Students aged 15 or below accounted for 60 percent, 67 percent and 65 percent of the cases in the three respective school years.
Choi said the circumstances surrounding each case were different. She noted that the Child Fatality Review Panel has published six reports on the prevention of child deaths since 2013.
A three-tier school-based emergency mechanism has been introduced in all secondary schools to strengthen support for students at risk of suicide.
The mechanism was also extended on a trial basis to Primary Four to Primary Six students for the 2025/26 and 2026/27 school years, Choi said.
From December 1, 2023 to the end of July this year, off-campus support network teams under the second tier of the mechanism received 855 referrals for follow-up.
Meanwhile, the Hospital Authority’s psychiatric services, which form the third tier, received 547 cases referred by school principals.
The government also commissioned a university to assess the effectiveness of the mechanism.
Choi said the findings showed that schools generally welcomed the arrangement and considered it necessary, with respondents saying it had provided practical support to students experiencing mental distress.
To further strengthen the mechanism, the government will enhance support services, including additional training for school social workers, teaching staff and school-based educational psychologists.
It will also improve the assessment and follow-up of cases after reports are received, Choi said.
She added that the government would continue to strengthen cross-departmental and cross-sector collaboration and review the mechanism as part of efforts to prevent student suicides.
