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William Yiu

Hong Kong education authorities have cut the number of subsidised places for physiotherapy and occupational therapy programmes at three self-financing institutions by about a third for the 2027-28 academic year, amid a jobs crunch for graduates.
A physiotherapy association backed the reduction to avoid worsening unemployment in the sector, saying any future increase in places would depend on government funding.
The Education Bureau on Monday announced that its Study Subsidy Scheme for Designated Professions or Sectors (SSSDP) would fund 4,711 places across 59 undergraduate programmes at eight self-financing institutions in the coming academic year.
The overall number of subsidised places fell by 70 from the current year, a drop of about 1 per cent.
“The programmes and numbers of subsidised places under the scheme are determined by the Education Bureau in consultation with relevant policy bureaus and departments,” the bureau said.
The scheme covers 10 disciplines identified as having strong manpower demand: architecture and engineering, computer science, creative industries, financial technology, healthcare, insurance, logistics, sports and recreation, testing and certification, and tourism and hospitality.
Three physiotherapy programmes saw a sharp reduction in places, with total intake falling from 175 in 2026-27 to 120 in 2027-28, a 31 per cent cut.
Tung Wah College and Saint Francis University each had their Year One intake reduced from 60 to 40 places, a one-third cut. Hong Kong Metropolitan University’s (HKMU) intake fell from 55 to 40 places, a 27 per cent reduction.
The three institutions have been approached for comment.
The cuts come as physiotherapy graduates face a tight job market, amid continuing healthcare budget constraints and an increase in the number of new practitioners.

Tung Wah College’s occupational therapy programme was similarly affected, with its intake set to fall by one-third, from 60 to 40 places next year, because of comparable job shortages in the sector.
Alexander Woo Chuen-hau, president of the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association, said he supported the cuts given the weak hiring outlook. He said the Hospital Authority and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) no longer had the budget to employ as many graduates as before.
“To avoid a mismatch of graduates and jobs, I agree with cutting places in the coming school year. I expect Polytechnic University, the public one, will suffer a similar cut in intake places in the future, such as approximately one-third,” he said.
Woo added that some NGOs were now hiring physiotherapy graduates as programme workers on monthly salaries of less than HK$20,000 (US$2,549).
The Hospital Authority hired about 90 physiotherapy graduates this year, compared with more than 200 in a financial year before the government began its three-year budget cuts last year, Woo said.
The government reduced recurrent public expenditure by 1 per cent for 2025-26 and by 2 per cent in each of the following two years.
Aside from allied health, subsidised places were also cut by 29 per cent for landscape architecture and by 25 per cent for translation technology programmes.
At the same time, more resources were directed towards emerging digital industries.
HKMU’s applied degree in robotics and automation engineering was allocated 40 places, with 30 for Year One and the remaining 10 for Year Two.
Hong Kong Shue Yan University’s digital solutions for entertainment and game applications programme received 25 places – 15 for Year One and 10 for senior-year entry.
The scheme was first introduced in the 2015-16 academic year.
Final tuition subsidies under the scheme vary according to programme costs. Annual government subsidies for laboratory-based and non-laboratory-based courses are HK$81,450 and HK$46,780 respectively.
For applied degree programmes, the annual subsidies are HK$89,620 for laboratory-based courses and HK$51,880 for non-laboratory-based ones.


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Education

Health & Environment

Cuts come as physiotherapy graduates face a tight job market amid ongoing healthcare budget constraints and a surge in new practitioners


Cuts come as physiotherapy graduates face a tight job market amid ongoing healthcare budget constraints and a surge in new practitioners.


China

Shue Yan University (HKSYU)

Hospital Authority

Hong Kong Metropolitan University

Subsidised physiotherapy places slashed by third amid graduate job crunch

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Cuts come as physiotherapy graduates face a tight job market amid ongoing healthcare budget constraints and a surge in new practitioners

Cuts come as physiotherapy graduates face a tight job market amid ongoing healthcare budget constraints and a surge in new practitioners