South China Morning Post——Record non-DSE admissions to Hong Kong’s universities spark calls for quotas

Date: 24/08/2026

Hong Kong public universities have admitted a record number of students applying outside the local exam system, with the intake surging by 63 per cent over seven years to account for nearly 30 per cent of the 15,000 government-funded places, the South China Morning Post has found.

 

Meanwhile, the intake of home-grown students taking the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exam has dropped by 7 per cent, causing its proportion to fall from 82 per cent to 72 per cent, sparking calls for a cap on admissions through alternative qualifications to safeguard local interests.

 

“The decrease in places for DSE students results in driving up admission scores,” said Ng Po-shing, a student guidance consultant at Hok Yau Club and vice-principal of a secondary school. “More students are complaining that they failed to get into certain programmes though they met the median score in the previous cohort.”

 

“Students from non-DSE curricula often came from families who could afford higher tuition fees and were well equipped to secure good grades, leading to universities preferring to admit them over DSE students, thereby reinforcing their socio-economic status.”

 

“Students with good backgrounds enjoy more resources and then obtain good grades, resulting in good prospects and continued high socio-economic backgrounds or vice versa,” he said.

 

Detailed news report： https://hk.on.cc/hk/bkn/cnt/news/20260713/bkn-20260713140355401-0713_00822_001.html

 

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