Overview of Kindergarten Education in Hong Kong

Kindergartens and kindergarten-cum-child care centres (hereafter collectively referred to as "KG") which are registered with the Education Bureau, provide services for children from three to six years old. At present, most kindergartens operate on a half-day basis and offer upper kindergarten, lower kindergarten and nursery classes. Some kindergartens offer whole-day classes as well. The aim of kindergarten education in Hong Kong is to nurture children to attain all-round development in the domains of ethics, intellect, physique, social skills and aesthetics; to develop good habits so as to prepare them for life; and to stimulate children’s interest in learning and cultivate in them positive learning attitudes, in order to lay the foundation for their future learning.

All kindergartens in Hong Kong are privately run and they can be categorised as non-profit-making (NPM) kindergartens (KGs) and private independent (PI) KGs depending on their sponsoring organisations which can be either voluntary agencies or private enterprises. All kindergartens are registered under the Education Ordinance. Inspectors from the Education Bureau visit kindergartens regularly to give advice to principals and teachers on curriculum, teaching approaches and school administration. The Operation Manual for Pre-primary Institutions (September 2024 Version 3.1) , compiled by the Education Bureau and the Social Welfare Department, provides prospective school operators with the necessary information regarding statutory requirements and recommendations for the operation of kindergartens.

Kindergartens vary a lot in their scale of operation and the number of classrooms can range from two to over ten. Most of them however can create a stimulating learning environment that caters for children’s life experience and interests, by setting up different activity centres. For instance, there may be Reading Corner, Mathematics Corner, Nature Corner, Art and Crafts Corner, Music Corner, Home Corner etc. These activity centres are all well equipped with teaching aids to facilitate self-learning.

All children in Hong Kong, irrespective of their nationalities, can apply for fee assistance under the Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme as long as they are under 6 years old, study in kindergartens or child care centres and can fulfill other requirements specified in the scheme. Details can be found at the website of the Student Finance Office (SFO) of the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency (WFSFAA): http://www.wfsfaa.gov.hk/sfo/eng/.

In light of the changes in society and the needs of children, the Curriculum Development Council (CDC) conducted a review on the "Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum" (2006), and proposed key emphases to further enhance the kindergarten curriculum.

"Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide" (2017) maintains the rationale stated in the "Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum" (2006), adopts "child-centredness" as our core value, and upholds the essential principle of "Understanding and respecting the unique developmental patterns of every child."

The Kindergarten Education curriculum covers five developmental objectives, namely "Moral Development", "Cognitive and Language Development", "Physical Development", "Affective and Social Development" and "Aesthetic Development", with a view to actualising the development in the five domains of ethics, intellect, physique, social skills and aesthetics respectively. The five developmental objectives are to be achieved through six learning areas, namely "Physical Fitness and Health", "Language", "Early Childhood Mathematics", "Nature and Living", "Self and Society" and "Arts and Creativity", all learning covers "Values and Attitudes", "Skills" and "Knowledge", which promotes comprehensive and balanced development in children through approaches of "Real-life Themes", "Integrated Approach" and "Learning through Play".

The minimum academic entry qualification for kindergarten teachers is five passes, including both Chinese and English, in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) / Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination in not more than two sittings.

Since September 2003, all newly appointed kindergarten teachers are required to possess a Qualified Kindergarten Teacher [QKT] qualification or its equivalent.  Please refer to the EDBC No. 28/2003 for details.

Starting from 2003/04 school year, all kindergartens are required to attain the teacher-to-pupil ratio at 1:15 or lower.

With the implementation of the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS) from the 2007/08 school year, direct fee subsidy to parents and in parallel financial support for teachers’ professional upgrading have been provided.

All new Principals from the 2009/10 school year should have a degree in ECE [BEd(ECE)], one-year post-qualification experience and should have completed a recognized certificate course on principalship, before, or exceptionally within the first year of, their appointment.

Starting from the 2012/13 school year, kindergartens under the PEVS are required to employ sufficient number of teachers possessing the Certificate in Early Childhood Education [C(ECE)] qualifications based on the teacher to pupil ratio of 1:15.

Some kindergarten-cum-child care centres have joined the "Integrated Programme" to provide intensive training and care to mildly disabled children aged 3-6. Through the Programme, children will be better prepared for the mainstream education in the future. For detailed information, please visit the website of the Social Welfare Department: http://www.swd.gov.hk.

All children in Hong Kong who have reached the age of 5 years 8 months or older (as at the 1st of September) are eligible to participate in the Primary One Admission System, if they have not been admitted to any primary schools yet. Children will be allocated to primary one of a government or an aided primary school. The purpose of the System is to minimize the pressure imposed on young children as a result of intense competition for primary one places and the adverse effect this may have on kindergarten education. Parents are required to fill in an application form and indicate their choice of schools in the order of preference. The Education Bureau would input the data into the computer and a primary one place will be assigned to each child based on the preference indicated on the application form. All children joining the System will be offered admittance to primary one in a government or an aided primary school.

The Education Bureau (EDB) enhances and implements the Quality Assurance Framework continuously. KGs participating in the Scheme (Scheme-KGs) are required to conduct School Self-evaluation (SSE) for sustainable advancement. EDB will arrange Quality Review (QR) visits at individual KGs to validate their SSE findings and upload QR reports onto the EDB webpage after the visits for the reference of the public.