Primary Schools
The difference between government, aided, direct subsidy scheme, and private primary schools
Government Primary Schools
Government primary schools are run by the government and directly managed by the Education Bureau. All teachers and employees are civil servants.
Admission method: All new students must be allocated through the government's primary one admission, including self-allocation of places and central allocation.
Tuition fee: No tuition fee is required.
Curriculum: Core courses arranged in accordance with the guidelines of the Education Bureau, such as Chinese, English, Mathematics, General Studies, etc., Some will also be designed for individual schools, such as the Hoi Pa Street Government Primary School in Tsuen Wan, using activities and small class teaching.
Popular schools: North Point Government Primary School, Hennessy Road Government Primary School, Sha Tin Government Primary School, etc.
Aided Primary Schools
Aided primary schools are sponsored by the sponsoring body to apply to the government, usually a religious or charitable organization, and the school management is appointed by the sponsoring body that is responsible. Since the school building is built by the school sponsoring body, it has the right to name the school, such as the SKH Kee Lok Primary School.
Admission method: Like government primary schools, all freshmen must be allocated through the government’s primary one admissions.
Including self-allocation of places and central allocation.
Tuition fee: No tuition fee is required.
Curriculum: Basically the same as government primary schools. In addition to core courses arranged according to the guidelines of the Education Bureau, such as Chinese, English, Mathematics, and general knowledge, special courses can also be designed according to individual schools.
Popular schools: La Salle Primary School, Maryknoll Convent School (Primary Section), Yau Ma Tei Catholic Primary School, etc.
Direct Subsidy Scheme Primary Schools
DSS schools are managed by the Incorporated Management Committee or the Management Committee on their own and enjoy a government subsidy based on the number of eligible students in the school.
Admission method: Students can register on their own regardless of the school network they live in. Schools can set their own admission dates and set up interviews and relevant admission criteria, except that written examinations are not allowed.
Tuition fees: Tuition fees must be paid, ranging from 7,000 to 70,000 dollars per year.
Curriculum: Like government and aided primary schools, DSS primary schools provide students with local courses, but they are more flexible in many aspects in terms of curriculum development, like teaching language, and use of resources. But, of course, this does not mean that the teaching mode of DSS primary schools must be more flexible and changeable than that of government and aided primary schools. Because many traditional government and aided primary schools have implemented diversified teaching, the most important thing is to compare individual schools. We must not make a conclusion based on the category of the school alone.
Popular schools: Diocesan Boys' School Primary Division, St. Paul's Co-educational College Primary School, Ying Wa Primary School, etc.
Private Primary Schools
The school-sponsoring organization is self-financed and managed by the school board, without government funding.
Admission method: The school has completely independent autonomy, including student area, interview date and format, etc. However, according to the guidelines of the Education Bureau, there should be no written examination.
Tuition fees: Tuition fees must be paid, ranging from more than 20,000 to more than 190,000 per year.
Curriculum: Like DSS schools, private primary schools have great freedom in curriculum development. For example, in order to bridge international schools and foreign courses, schools can provide International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. For whole person development, schools provide EQ training.
Popular schools: Diocesan Girls’ Primary School, St. Stephen’s College Primary School, Hong Kong Pui Ching Primary School, etc.
International Schools
All international schools in Hong Kong are private primary schools except for the schools under the English Schools Foundation. Therefore, schools have complete autonomy in the arrangement of courses and admissions. In addition to the more popular International Baccalaureate (International Baccalaureate,
(Abbreviated as IB), some schools will provide National Curriculum for England (NCfE), Section internationale américaine (SIA), etc. to help students easily connect to foreign courses for further study.
Since August 2018, freshmen from classes 1 to 3 of the ESF schools have not received government funding.