HKAHSS Recommendations for the Chief Executive Policy Address 2025

The Steering Committee for Teaching in Basic Education under the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China (MOE) has recently released the “Guidelines for Artificial Intelligence (AI) General Education in Primary and Secondary Schools (2025)” and the “Guidelines for the Use of Generative AI in Primary and Secondary Schools (2025)”, with the aim of regulating and promoting AI education across all key stages. The Beijing Municipal Education Commission has been even more forward-looking. In 2024, it issued the Implementation Plan for the Application of AI in the Education Sector and the Guidelines for the Application of AI in Schools. In March 2025, it further published the Work Plan for Promoting AI Education in Primary and Secondary Schools (2025–2027).

Beijing’s plan covers multiple dimensions. For curriculum development, starting from the autumn term of 2025, all primary and secondary schools in Beijing will introduce AI literacy education, ensuring no fewer than 8 hours of instruction each academic year to achieve universal coverage. For applications of AI in education, the plan focuses on six core areas—AI for teaching assistance, learning assistance, student development, assessment, research, and administration—while exploring new scenarios for AI application. It also seeks to create a one-stop “Beijing Basic Education AI Application Marketplace”. The breadth, intensity, and speed of these initiatives are noteworthy and merit reference.

We recommend that:

(a) The Steering Committee on Strategic Development of Digital Education (SCSDDE), established in early 2025, should accelerate its work and aim to formulate and release Hong Kong’s digital education policy, implementation strategies, action plans, and resource allocation by 2026. This will enable Hong Kong schools to align with national strategies, keep pace with global trends, and nurture future-ready talent.

(b) To better address the challenges of the digital era, the HKSAR Government may consider elevating the authority of the Steering Committee and integrating the functions and resources of the existing Steering Committee on Strategic Development of Information Technology in Education to enhance effectiveness.

(c) Hong Kong should leverage the collaborative foundation of government, industry, academia, research, and investment, as well as its unique role as a bridge between Mainland China and the world, to advance digital education in schools. For example, support the Hong Kong Generative AI Research Centre in developing large language models tailored for local schools; and attract both Chinese and international technology enterprises to establish multiple “AI Education Training Bases” in Hong Kong—similar to Cyberport—for secondary students and teachers.

The “2024-2035 Master Plan on Building China into a Leading Country in Education” provides a comprehensive blueprint for accelerating the construction of an education powerhouse. The Master Plan identifies 9 priority tasks, including “enhancing the quality of basic education” and “stimulating vitality in educational development”. Achieving these objectives requires a stable education ecosystem and sustained resource investment. Accordingly, the Master Plan mandates all levels of government to increase education expenditure year by year, ensuring that public budgetary spending on education never decreases, and that national expenditure on education remains above 4% of GDP.

At the National Conference on Education held in Beijing in September 2024, the President underscored: “Education is the foundation of building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation.” Education is not an expenditure but an investment. Even in the face of fiscal deficits, Hong Kong needs a high-quality education system to nurture its children, build a new generation of highly competent teachers, promote educational equity, and advance quality education.

Hong Kong has long faced imbalances in school places across districts. Coupled with recent funding cuts due to fiscal constraints and declining student population, the educational ecosystem and school development are under strain. Public schools now face increasing financial pressure and rising risks to their sustainability, which is detrimental to the goals of enhancing the quality of basic education and stimulating vitality in educational development. In May 2025, the Education Bureau announced the “Optimisation Plan for the Future Development of Secondary Schools”. Measures include reducing operating grants for public schools, cancelling certain student subsidies, tightening eligibility criteria, lowering teacher-student ratios, raising thresholds for class formation, and introducing the pilot scheme for restructuring classes from 4 to 5. These measures risk undermining teacher-student interaction, attention to student diversity, and the overall learning environment, causing concern and unease among educators. The new policies appear contractionary, focusing primarily on coping with population decline and labour force challenges, without adequately addressing how education should support Hong Kong’s future economic and developmental needs through talent cultivation.

In terms of education as the foundation, the HKSAR government should take “Nurturing and Cultivating Talent” as the development goal and adopt sustainable development policies. Regarding budget cuts, the education sector understands the difficulties faced by the HKSAR government and is willing to adjust in a systematic manner to get through this tough time together. We recommend that:

(a) The HKSAR Government could explore the future direction of basic education, including the feasibility of amending relevant ordinances to maximise the use of school places and adopt policies to attract non-local secondary students. At the same time, curriculum, learning and teaching quality, and learning environments must continue to be enhanced to ensure local students’ opportunities and quality education, while enabling schools to innovate and extending Hong Kong’s role as an international education hub into secondary education.

(b) In planning for new districts, the HKSAR Government should strengthen coordination to balance school places across districts, improve school premises, and enhance learning environments.

(c) During periods of fiscal austerity, the HKSAR Government should consider granting schools greater financial flexibility. For instance, aided schools could be allowed to freeze over 10% of staff establishment in exchange for additional cash grants; extend the usage periods and broaden the scope of time-limited funds to better support student learning; and further encourage schools to generate income by leasing facilities to the community.

(d) When formulating future policies for basic education, the Education Bureau should prioritise the development of a healthy education ecosystem. Sufficient consultation with the education sector and stakeholders should be conducted at an early stage, backed by thorough research, to ensure transparency and enable educators to recognise the positive impact of policies. This would strengthen their sense of engagement and shared purpose in advancing education.

國家教育部基礎教育教學指導委員會早前發布《中小學人工智能通識教育指南（2025年版）》和《中小學生成式人工智能使用指南（2025年版）》，以規範和推進人工智能全學段教育。北京市教委更超前規劃和行動，在2024年已出台《北京市教育領域人工智能應用工作方案》，以及規範學校使用的《北京市教育領域人工智能應用指南》，並於2025年3月公布《北京市推進中小學人工智慧教育工作方案（2025—2027年）》。

北京市教委的方案涉及多個範疇，例如在課程方面，北京市中小學從2025年秋季學期開始，將全部開展人工智慧通識教育，每學年不少於8課時，實現中小學生全面普及；在人工智能應用於教育方面，圍繞AI助教、助學、助育、助評、助研、助管等六大核心領域，探索人工智能應用新場景，打造一站式「北京基礎教育AI（人工智慧）應用超市」。其宏圖之大，用力之猛，行動之速，值得借鑒。我們建議：

(a) 加快2025年初成立的「數字教育策略發展督導委員會」工作步伐，力爭在2026年制訂和公布數字教育的政策、實施策略、不同範疇的行動計劃和資源安排等，讓香港中小學能配合國策，緊貼世界發展趨勢，培育人才。

(b) 為有效應對數字時代的挑戰，特區政府可考慮提升「數字教育策略發展督導委員會」的層次，並整合特區政府現有「資訊科技教育策略發展督導委員會」的職能和資源，提高效益。

(c) 善用「政、產、學、研、投」的協作基礎和香港聯通中外的優勢，推動中小學數字教育的發展，例如鼓勵香港生成式人工智能研發中心，開發內聯外通及適用於香港學校的大語言模型；引進中外科技企業，建立多個類似落戶數碼港的「香港人工智能科普培訓基地」，為本地中學生和教師提供與時並進的培訓課程。

2025年初公布的《教育強國建設規劃綱要（2024—2035年）》，對加快建設教育強國作出全面系統部署。《綱要》部署了9個方面重點任務，包括「辦強辦優基礎教育」和「激發教育發展活力」等。要完成有關任務，必須有穩定的教育生態和資源投入，因此《綱要》要求各級政府要加大財政投入力度，確保一般公共預算教育支出逐年只增不減，國家財政性教育經費支出佔國內生產總值（GDP）比例高於4%。

國家主席在2024年9月9日至10日於北京召開的全國教育大會強調：「教育是強國建設、民族復興之基」。教育是投資而非開支，配合國家發展，即使面對財赤，我們更需要高質量的教育體系，栽培香港孩子，造就新時代高水平的教師隊伍，促進教育公平，發展優質教育。

香港學界長久以來面對區域學位供求失衡的情況，加上特區政府因財赤削減資助和學齡人口下降的衝擊下，對教育生態和學校發展構成影響。未來，公營學校財政壓力增加、學校生存風險上升，不利於「辦強辦優基礎教育」和「激發教育發展活力」。今年5月教育局公布「中學規劃未來路向優化方案」，措施涉及削減公營學校營辦津貼、取消部分學生資助、收緊資助資格、減少師生比例、提高學校開班門檻、加大班級結構4變5先導計劃等措施，這些安排不利師生互動、照顧學生差異和優化學習環境，令學界不解和憂慮。新措施趨向收縮型，長遠只在應對人口下降與準備勞動力流失，未有提及如何配合香港未來經濟和教育擴展型的發展，栽培人才。

就教育為本而言，特區政府宜以「儲才育才」為發展目標，採取持續發展型的政策。就削資而言，學界理解特區政府難處，願意以系統性思維配合調整，共渡時艱。我們建議：

(a) 特區政府可探討未來基礎教育的發展走向，著手研究修改相關條例的可能性和靈活性，以善用學額，吸納非本地中學生的政策措施。我們亦需要持續提升課程、學與教質素，優化學生學習環境，在保障本地學生入學機會和優質學習之餘，亦能讓學校持續創新發展，將國際教育樞紐的發展延伸至中學教育。

(b) 在研究發展新區域時，特區政府宜加強規劃，平衡現時各區學校和學額供求，有效重置和改善中學校舍環境，優化學習環境。

(c) 在財赤削資時期，特區政府可進一步拆牆鬆綁，賦權學校靈活理財。例如：因應校情，容許資助學校申請凍結超過10%的教員編制以申領更多現金津貼；延長各有時限撥款的使用時限和擴大使用範圍，讓資源有效地用於學生學習；進一步租借校舍或設施予社區，鼓勵學校開源。

(d) 教育局日後在制訂基礎教育未來路向的政策和措施時，以促進教育生態發展為原則，及早充分諮詢學界及持份者，做好調查研究，確保決策過程透明公開，令學界感覺到政策帶來的正面效益，提升認同感和獲得感，攜手為香港教育共同努力。