At least 23 kindergartens have indicated they will close by the end of the current school year in August, marking a 28 per cent year-on-year increase over 2023-24, education authorities’ data shows.
The anticipated rise has been linked to the record-low birth rate in 2022, with children born that year set to make up most of the next batch of first-year kindergarteners. The sector has also warned that more closures may follow if the situation fails to improve.
The city has already seen a dip in the number of registered births this year, with levels for the first five months dropping by about 6 per cent year on year, despite small upticks in 2023 and 2024.
In a reply to the Post, the Education Bureau said that as of June this year, 23 preschools had indicated that they would cease operations in or by the end of the 2024-25 school year.
In the first 10 months of 2023-24, 18 kindergartens told authorities that they would close.
The tally for that entire school year later reached 29, comprising 17 non-subsidised local kindergartens, eight non-local institutions and four subsidised local preschools.
