Among the five sectors of Hong Kong's Election Committee (EC), the second sector, comprises 10 subsectors with a total of 300 members. Of these, 69 seats are returned through nominations by designated bodies, 149 seats are returned through elections, and 82 are ex-officio members. During the nomination period for the 2026 Election Committee Subsector General Election, eight subsectors each received more candidate nomination forms than the number of elected seats, while two subsectors received the same number of candidate nomination forms as the number of seats. This means that, if all candidates pass the vetting and confirmation of the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee, all eight subsectors will have to return EC members through elections. Among them, the Education subsector received exactly 14 candidate nomination forms for its 14 elected seats during the nomination period. All 14 candidates have substantial educational credentials, and 10 of them are first-time candidates, accounting for more than 70 percent. The new lineup both continues the professional foundation of the education sector and covers different education posts and service areas, demonstrating broad representativeness and injecting new momentum into the work of Education subsector EC members. The candidates have jointly put forward platforms including restarting the "Voluntary Early Retirement Scheme", enhancing kindergarten social work services, and establishing a free local "school-based AI large language model system", in the hope of easing pressures arising from the structural decline in the school-age population, the transformation of school manpower and resources, and the rapid entry of artificial intelligence into education.
The Education subsector has a total of 30 seats, of which 16 are ex-officio members to be held by specified positions of the Education subsector. Under the Chief Executive Election Ordinance (Cap. 569) of Hong Kong, the specified positions of the Education subsector are the Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Hong Kong; the Vice-Chancellor and President of the Chinese University of Hong Kong; the President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; the President of the City University of Hong Kong; the President of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University; the President of the Education University of Hong Kong; the President of Hong Kong Baptist University; the President of Lingnan University; the President of Hong Kong Metropolitan University; the President of Hong Kong Shue Yan University; the President of The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong; a position specified by the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong; a position specified by Po Leung Kuk; a position specified by the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui; a position specified by Tung Wah Group of Hospitals; and a position specified by the Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China.
As for the 14 elected seats, they come from the specified entities of the subsector. Under the Chief Executive Election Ordinance, the specified entities of the Education subsector are higher education institutions funded by the University Grants Committee; registered colleges as defined in the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap. 320); Hong Kong Metropolitan University; the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts; the Vocational Training Council; the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority; the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications; schools registered under section 13 of the Education Ordinance (Cap. 279) or under one of the repealed ordinances as defined in section 3(1) of that Ordinance, except exempted schools as defined in section 2 of the Education (Exemption) (Private Schools Offering Non-formal Curriculum) Order (Cap. 279, subsidiary legislation F); and schools wholly maintained and managed by the Government.
The 14 candidates have diverse backgrounds, covering secondary schools, primary schools, kindergartens, special education, regional principals' organizations and education professional bodies. Many of them serve as chairpersons, vice-chairpersons or persons-in-charge of the relevant organizations. They have formed the "Education Professionals Alliance" team and jointly put forward the election platform of "pragmatism as the foundation, professionalism as the guiding principle, and teachers and students first", noting that the education sector faces threefold pressure: first, the structural decline in the school-age population; second, pressure from the transformation of school manpower and resources; and third, the rapid entry of artificial intelligence (AI) into education.
They have jointly put forward a number of corresponding policy proposals. On "stabilising teachers", they propose restarting the "Voluntary Early Retirement Scheme", providing one-off ex gratia compensation to senior teachers who have served for a certain number of years, humanely absorbing surplus teacher establishment, and freeing up vacancies for young teachers to have room for development. On "stabilising schools", they seek greater room for schools in admission mechanisms and curriculum planning to enhance the vitality of basic education development, and stable resources for schools during the demographic transition period to implement various nurturing tasks. On "stabilising children", they propose enhancing the stability and coverage of kindergarten social work services. On promoting digital education, they propose establishing a free local "school-based AI large language model system" to avoid duplicate procurement by schools. On transition and inclusion, they promote systematic collaboration mechanisms between universities and primary and secondary schools and kindergartens. On value guidance, they propose aligning with patriotic education and organically integrating national education into daily teaching.
(Source: Wen Wei Po | Editor: Liu Yu)
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