‘Affected by the pandemic’: number of suspected suicides among Hong Kong pupils rises to 31, more than twice that of 2018

The monthly average of such suicide cases has risen from less than two in the last five years to nearly three in 2023.

In a circular issued on November 9, the Education Bureau urged the school sector to hold both a “Spread the Love, Care and Shine” campaign and “Mental Health Day” in the same month to strengthen the adaptive ability and stress resistance of pupils, as well as guide them to cope with pressure.

1 in 4 Hong Kong children suffered from a mental disorder in past year: study

Choi reiterated that the Covid-19 pandemic was behind the surge of cases.

“It is believed that the upwards trend may be affected by the pandemic and the greater challenges students faced after the return to normality,” she said.

She added the bureau had received from parents three complaint cases related to academic pressure in the past three years, which the education authorities requested the schools to investigate.

The minister also said the government would implement a “Three-Tier School-based Emergency Mechanism” in all secondary schools this month and the next to identify and support higher-risk pupils at an early stage.

The mechanism comes with an “off-campus support network” to enhance “external support” for schools facing difficulty in deploying manpower to meet the needs of students.

It also allows school principals to refer pupils with severe mental health needs to the psychiatric specialist services of the Hospital Authority.

Post-pandemic challenges behind rising pupil suicides: Hong Kong education chief

The authority had 381 psychiatrists as of March 31 this year, while the attendance at the psychiatric specialist outpatient clinics stood at nearly 970,000 in 2022-23.

Choi said the authority had introduced a programme allowing its patients in a stable condition to receive private medical services to shorten the waiting time of psychiatric specialist outpatient clinics since last year.