DSS Expansion: A New Chapter for “Study in Hong Kong”

The Education Bureau (EDB) is committed to developing Hong Kong into an international education hub. In basic education, we have introduced the “Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) Expansion”. Since the implementation of the scheme on a trial basis, the community has responded positively and DSS schools have been actively engaged. To date, over half of the DSS schools (48 in total) have been approved to participate in the scheme. The EDB is delighted to see that the scheme has successfully attracted non-local students with student visas to study at DSS schools in Hong Kong, injecting new momentum into Hong Kong’s education.

Encouraging early results of the DSS Expansion

While safeguarding local students’ opportunities to enrol in their preferred DSS schools and pursue local or non-local curricula of their choice, participating DSS schools have introduced additional school places for non-local students under the DSS Expansion and have received numerous enquiries from overseas parents. According to the headcount for DSS schools in September this year, the total number of non-local students with student visas enrolling in DSS schools on a self-financing mode is 170, an increase of 13% compared to that of last year. As a pilot scheme being implemented in a small-step approach, it has had a good start.

Moreover, in addition to the seven DSS schools that admitted non-local students for two consecutive years, seven more DSS schools have admitted overseas students this school year. This not only promotes the development of Hong Kong as an international education hub, but also facilitates exchanges and collaborative learning among students from diverse cultural backgrounds, enabling them to share their own cultures and traditions, develop a deeper understanding of global and cross-regional issues, and broaden their international outlook.

This school year, non-local students holding student visas come from a wide range of countries including Thailand, Korea, Singapore, as well as countries in Europe and the United States, with diverse backgrounds and cultures. To help them integrate into Hong Kong’s culture and campus life as quickly as possible, DSS schools provide multifaceted support, such as peer support, pastoral care and induction programmes tailored to the needs of overseas students, ensuring that their studies, daily lives, and mental and physical well-being are well taken care of.

Positive response from overseas promotion

The EDB has been maintaining close communication and collaboration with the Hong Kong Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council (the Council) to actively promote the DSS Expansion to overseas parents and students. For example, with the support of the overseas Economic and Trade Offices (ETOs), the EDB and the Council jointly organised delegation visits to Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia in the first half of the year. Through seminars and direct engagement, parents and students were introduced to the distinctive features of DSS schools in Hong Kong, their curriculum arrangements, progression pathways and advantages of studying in Hong Kong. The delegations also connected with local education authorities to foster exchanges and promote the “Study in Hong Kong” brand.

During the visits, we engaged with many overseas parents, who generally agreed that the diverse curricula offered by DSS schools in Hong Kong and the biliterate and trilingual learning and teaching environment could cater to their children’s learning needs. They also appreciated Hong Kong’s proximity to Southeast Asia with convenient transport links, and its safe and stable living environment that reduces their concerns. Furthermore, they believed that arranging for their children to receive a quality basic education in Hong Kong at an early age would better prepare them for progression to Hong Kong’s internationally renowned higher education institutions later on.

Continue to promote “Study in Hong Kong”

Looking ahead, the EDB will continue to take forward the DSS Expansion on multiple fronts. Among these, as accommodation is one of the important factors in attracting overseas students to study in Hong Kong, the EDB will actively support the Council in formulating the Code of Practice for Operating Student Hostels (the Code of Practice), setting operator standards for accommodation, hygiene, safety and warden arrangements. The EDB will also support the Council in setting up the Student Accommodation Facilities Committee to monitor whether the operators have implemented the stipulations in the Code of Practice for the well-being of students.

We will further strengthen our promotion efforts to showcase to overseas parents the distinctive advantages of Hong Kong’s basic education and Hong Kong’s unique position as a hub for international cultural exchange. We will also leverage the support of ETOs and the Hong Kong Talent Engage to promote the “Study in Hong Kong” brand to overseas parents, strengthen our overseas connections and steadily build a student recruitment and promotion network, enabling more overseas families to learn about Hong Kong’s high-quality basic education and encouraging more overseas students to pursue their studies here.

The DSS Expansion is an important step in progressively advancing Hong Kong’s development into an international education hub at basic education. It not only brings new opportunities to the education sector, but also provides quality educational options for overseas families, and enriches cross-cultural learning experiences for local students. We will continue to review the implementation of the scheme, listen to stakeholders’ views and refine the scheme where appropriate. We look forward to working hand in hand with all sectors of the community to leverage Hong Kong’s educational strengths and write a new chapter for “Study in Hong Kong”.

21 October 2026