Secondary school teaches no practical life skills, so young people self-learn after leaving

An 18-year-old asked on social media whether she should apply for public housing, admitting 'school never taught this' — sparking wide discussion over whether local secondary education covers practical knowledge like housing applications and social welfare. Many young Hongkongers report that school curricula focus on exam subjects and career-planning interview drills, with little depth on the practical adult-life knowledge of applying for public housing, filing taxes, MPF, credit records and tenancy rights; personal finance and the housing system are mostly learned from social media and 'those who've been through it'.

The Education Bureau's curriculum guide lists 'Personal, Social and Humanities Education' as a core learning area, but concrete adult-life practical skills lack continued teaching beyond senior secondary; the Housing Department, Inland Revenue Department and MPFA run no standing outreach programmes with the school system. This gap between education and practice leaves a generation of young Hongkongers piecing together life skills from scattered information after leaving school, with public-policy literacy long lagging the level of its immediate impact on young people's lives.