Uni quota for non-locals may rise to 40pc

Chief Executive John Lee is proposing to double the quota for non-local students at eight public universities to 40 percent in the coming policy address, sources said, to transform Hong Kong into a higher education hub.

Currently, each University Grants Committee-funded university can reserve 20 percent of undergraduate places for non-locals.

The increase in non-local quotas will not affect the admission of locals because non-locals enroll through non-JUPAS avenues.

According to UGC statistics, the number of non-local undergrads in the eight universities rose from 12,000 in the 2019/20 academic year, to some 15,000 in the 2022/23 school year.

Of the 15,000, 75 percent were mainlanders, and 22 percent from Asian countries.

Currently, about 15,000 UGC-funded bachelor's degree places are provided to local students per year, raising the limit may mean doubling the number of non-locals from 3,000 to 6,000.

It is understood the plan is to encourage universities to recruit students from southeast Asia and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative to avoid the non-local quotas being monopolized by mainlanders.

Sources said the government plans to introduce measures to lure non-local grads to stay on and work here.

Education University associate vice president (institutional advancement) and Legislative Council member Chow Man-kong welcomed the proposal but said the quotas should be further raised to 50 percent, and the increase can be launched in phases.

He said most lectures are held in halls capable of tackling the increase in student numbers.

"Even if for some lab-based courses, various universities had built new teaching and research buildings in the past five years, and I think this can also help deal with the increasing student number," Chow said.

He also suggested universities and the government take reference from overseas by setting up a designated organization to do overseas recruitment work and target top students and those from the middle class.

Lingnan University associate vice president and Legco member Lau Chi-pang said unis may need to upgrade their facilities and adjust their accommodation arrangement for students.

But he believed that adding to the non-local quota would not hinder local students' needs for dormitories.

"These non-locals would have to settle their accommodations before heading here and the city's public transportation is so well-developed," he said. "No matter how far the students live, universities should take care of their accommodation."

Polytechnic University vice president Wong Kwok-yin believed the government will not raise the ratio to 40 percent in one go, adding his university will upgrade its facilities gradually.

The university admitted 821 non-locals this school year, which exceeded the current 20 percent limit.

Wong said PolyU has always been targeting more than half of non-local students be non-Chinese to promote cultural exchanges.

But he added its non-local students were mainly mainlanders. "As long as [the non-local students] fulfill our recruitment criteria, our faculties would enroll them," Wong said.