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William Yiu

At least four Hong Kong kindergartens will hold Mid-Autumn Festival open days and parties on a night traditionally set aside for family reunions, sparking criticism that teachers are being forced to work overtime to bring in pupils amid falling enrolment.
In a reply to the South China Morning Post, the Education Bureau said on Monday that preschools should maintain good communication with stakeholders, including teachers and staff, to make appropriate arrangements when planning various activities.
For the festival, which falls on Friday this year, many employers in Hong Kong traditionally allow staff to leave work a few hours early so they can attend or prepare for family dinners.
But according to promotional posters seen by the SCMP, at least four preschools have planned activities and open days themed around celebrating the festival for parents and children in the community for Friday evening.
Two kindergartens operated by the same school sponsoring body in Tsuen Wan will hold a “campus open day” for the community from 6pm to 8pm on Friday, featuring photo booths and complimentary lanterns.
“We welcome kids who are under six years old and their parents to join for free,” its promotional leaflet said.
A kindergarten in Sham Shui Po is planning a Mid-Autumn Festival party in an open area of a shopping centre nearby from 6pm to 9pm on Friday. The event will offer lantern-making, booth games and face and body painting.
Another preschool in Tuen Mun said its night party would include parent-child fitness play, Beyblade battles, game booths and a talent show in an open space near its campus.
The nighttime promotional events drew online comments expressing sympathy for teachers and staff at the preschools.

A viral post by an internet user named “snowmanseekingtruth” sharing the event fliers, which attracted thousands of comments and hundreds of shares, urged the bureau and Social Welfare Department to intervene and issue clear guidelines.
“Do teachers not have families? … This toxic trend of schools holding events on the actual day of a festival must not be allowed to spread any further,” the internet user wrote.
A parent, named “dreamland.craft” on Threads, also voiced disapproval of these events.
“Forcing teachers to work overtime so late on a holiday is genuinely heartless. The true meaning of Mid-Autumn Festival is to spend time with family. I really do not see the point of attending these events,” the parent said.
A former teacher also left a comment saying that on top of being on duty that night, educators had to do a lot of preparatory work, such as decorations.
“While you teach children in class that Mid-Autumn Festival is about family reunions, these teachers do not even get to see their own families,” the person said. “Principals and school management, please reflect on this.”
The controversy also highlights the sector's struggles with changing population demographics.
Under the government’s Kindergarten Education Scheme, participating schools receive operating subsidies based on the number of students they enrol, prompting some preschools to adopt aggressive strategies to attract pupils.
Children entering the first year of kindergarten the next academic year were generally born in 2023, when Hong Kong recorded its third-lowest birth rate, with only 33,100 babies born that year.
Official figures showed that first-year kindergarten enrolment at subsidised institutions had experienced a steep decline between 2020 and 2025, falling from 40,730 pupils to a low of 24,177 – a drop of about 41 per cent.
Many parents are now signing up for kindergartens a year in advance of their child’s first year, while kindergartens are holding a raft of open days and activities during the application peak season.


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The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on Friday this year. Photo: Dickson Lee

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Hong Kong

Education

Events underscore demographic pressure as subsidies tied to number of enrolments fuel recruitment push


Events underscore demographic pressure as subsidies tied to number of enrolments fuel recruitment push.


‘Do teachers not have families?’: kindergartens’ Mid-Autumn events draw backlash

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Events underscore demographic pressure as subsidies tied to number of enrolments fuel recruitment push

Events underscore demographic pressure as subsidies tied to number of enrolments fuel recruitment push