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Hong Kong’s struggle to ease academic competition among its young people

Pupils spend an average of 7 hours in school, 2.6 hours in after-school tutoring and another 1.5 hours on extracurricular activities, according to a survey.

Published: 9:00am, 6 Sep 2026Updated: 10:01am, 8 Sep 2026

More on Hong Kong education: https://sc.mp/19c5a5

Since Hong Kong’s handover in 1997, the government has sought to transform the city’s education system from a colonial system focused on memorisation and exam pressure, and towards a more holistic development meant to foster lifelong learning. But decades on, competition has only grown stronger among Hong Kong’s young students, extending beyond the confines of the classroom and into their extracurricular activities. What are the factors driving this competition and what is being done to ease pressure on pupils?

Hong Kong’s struggle to ease academic competition among its young people

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Pupils spend an average of 7 hours in school, 2.6 hours in after-school tutoring and another 1.5 hours on extracurricular activities, according to a survey.

Pupils spend an average of 7 hours in school, 2.6 hours in after-school tutoring and another 1.5 hours on extracurricular activities, according to a survey.