The Education Bureau has issued updated guidance advising schools against requiring students with special educational needs (SEN) or severe mental health conditions to repeat a grade. The revised School Administration Guide, updated in August and publicly noted recently, emphasizes that grade retention can exacerbate social and emotional adjustment challenges and increase mental health risks for these students.

Under the new guidance, subsidized schools that consider grade repetition for SEN students must consult with parents and a multi-disciplinary team of professionals. This team is to include educational psychologists, school student support staff, teachers, and psychiatrists when necessary. The bureau encourages schools to adopt tailored support approaches that meet individual student needs as alternatives to repeating grades.

The updated guide highlights that repeating a grade may diminish students' interest in learning, damage their self-esteem, raise dropout risks, and intensify mental health concerns. It instructs schools to evaluate a student's overall situation—considering academic performance, behavior, learning attitude, extracurricular involvement, other educational needs, and the preferences of the student and their family—before deciding on retention. The bureau clarifies that grade repetition should not be treated as the primary method of academic assistance or as a form of punishment.

Secondary school principal Lee noted that the policy does not impose an outright ban on grade repetition for SEN students but requires a comprehensive review of each case. Lee emphasized the importance of counseling for all students facing repetition to mitigate feelings of personal failure. She acknowledged that while some students may benefit from additional time to master subjects, others might better advance through options such as dropping elective courses or switching subjects.

Langton Cheung Yung-pong, honorary chairman of the Hong Kong Aided Primary School Heads Association, welcomed the updated guidelines as a positive development aligned with actual needs. Cheung noted his school’s existing practice of consulting multi-disciplinary teams when considering grade repetition. He added that for students with intellectual disabilities, extra time alone does not typically improve academic outcomes, making grade repetition unsuitable.

Data from the Education Bureau show a decline in grade repetition rates in Hong Kong schools over the past decade. The number of primary school repeaters fell from 1,610 in 2015 to 1,205 in 2025, representing 0.38 percent of the primary student population last year. Secondary school repeaters decreased from 11,560 in 2015 to 9,273 in 2025, but accounted for 2.67 percent of secondary students. The bureau also reported 67,870 students with special education needs enrolled in public schools for the 2024-25 academic year.