Rise in mental illness cases among Hong Kong students ‘reflects growing openness’
Education chief Christine Choi says causes of mental illness are complex and reasons range from personal, family and academic pressures to social difficulties
Hong Kong’s education minister has said the surge in students diagnosed with mental illness partly reflects parents’ growing acceptance and openness about the issue, while academic pressures, social lives and physical health also play a role.
The remarks by Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin came after the Education Bureau revealed that the number of secondary school students suffering from mental illness had doubled over the past five academic years, from 660 in 2020-21 to 1,330 in 2024-25.
In primary schools, the number of students diagnosed with mental illness also rose from 130 to 200 in the same period, a 54 per cent increase.
“I think [parents] have now adopted an attitude which is more open and accepting; therefore, so it is not a sudden surge,” Choi told lawmakers at a Legislative Council meeting on Thursday.
“It shows the [government’s] work has yielded some results, as parents are now willing to accept support services,” she said, adding that schools would receive grants to help students with special needs, including mental illness.
Choi conceded that parents in the past might have declined to admit that their children were mentally ill due to psychological pressures.
She said the causes of mental illness were complex and not due to one single factor.