60% of Hong Kong’s suspected student suicides involved children aged 15 or below

Hong Kong education authorities have revealed that at least 60 per cent of suspected student suicide cases in the last three academic years involved children aged 15 or below, urging schools to avoid giving excessive homework so pupils can lead a balanced lifestyle.

The Education Bureau also told lawmakers on Wednesday that school principals had directly referred 547 students at high risk of suicide to the public health system over the past 2½ years.

On average, principals had referred about 17 high-risk students to the Hospital Authority every month since December 2023.

In a written response to the Legislative Council, Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin revealed that the respective numbers of suspected student suicide cases reported to her bureau by primary and secondary schools were 30, 33 and 23 in the three school years between 2023 and 2026.