Number of SEN Students From 2019 to 2024

Author

Chan, Lok Yiu Chloe

Published

May 5, 2025

The number of Special Educational Needs (SEN) students in Hong Kong marked an increase over the past 5 years. According to the Legislative Council, number of SEN students in primary and secondary schools for 2023-2024 have rose by 32.3 percent and 37.9 percent since 2018-2019.

The data analysis aims to explore the trends of SEN conditions among primary and secondary levels in Hong Kong. Specifically, it strives to identify the most common SEN conditions to provide insights into the population of SEN students, and identify when SEN students began to increase significantly to understand the causes of this rise.

The dataset used for this project was published by DATA.GOV.HK, which included the number of different types of SEN students in primary and secondary levels throughout 2019 to 2024.

Questions

  1. What are the most common types of SEN students?
  2. When did the number of SEN students begin to increase rapidly?
  3. What led to an increase in SEN students

Key Findings

1. What are the most common types of SEN students?

Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) is the most common SEN condition at primary and secondary levels. Students with SpLD represent the highest numbers compared to other SEN conditions. According to the dataset, 72,470 primary and 78,180 secondary students were identified with SpLD from 2019 to 2024.

According to the Child Assessment Service, the cause of dyslexia, a common type of SpLD, is complex, and individuals with parents or siblings with dyslexia have higher chances of developing reading problems. While the reason why SpLD is such a common SEN condition is unclear, a case study published by the University Grants Committee said that the distinctive orthographic and language features of Chinese can contribute to specific cognitive challenges, thereby affecting Chinese readers’ ability to read.

Following SpLD, the second and third highest number of SEN conditions are those with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD). ASD ranks second among primary SEN students, with 41,430 students being identified, while it is ranked third among secondary students, with 33,800 being identified. In contrast, AD/HD is the third most common condition for primary students, accounting for 34,500, but it is the second most common for secondary students, totalling 54,190. The reason being the pandemic disrupting children’s social development, thereby triggering ASD, as suggested by the Journal of Integrated Medicine and Research. The National Library of Medicine also said that lack of interactions and engagement of virtual learning can also cause children to exhibit ADHD symptomatology.

2. When did the number of SEN students begin to increase rapidly?

For primary levels, the most notable increase among SEN students is those with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD). However, there has also been a notable increase among students with Speech and Language Impairment (SLI) and Intellectual Disability (ID). It is also worth noting that the number of SEN Students identified from those three conditions all saw an increase in specifically 2020, and the number only continued to increase over the years.

While SEN students identified with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), Physical Disability (PD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Mental Illness (MI), and Visual Impairment (VI) also experienced an increase in 2020 compared to 2019. These SEN students did not increase consistently throughout the years. As seen, the number of students with AD/HD and PD increased in 2020 but saw a decrease in 2021 and so on. The number of students identified with ASD also experienced a decrease in 2022 but increased after 2023. While students with MI did not increase in 2021, it saw an increase in 2022 and continued. As for students with VI, although there was a slight increase from 2019 to 2020, it decreased again in 2021.

In summary, while the number of SEN students peaked most notably in 2020, this trend did not continue consistently across all SEN conditions.

For secondary levels, the most notable increase was observed among students with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD). Additionally, students with SEN identified with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Mental Illness (MI), and Speech-Language Impairment (SLI) also experienced an increase. Notably, all five of these SEN types increased specifically in 2020.

In contrast, the numbers of students with Hearing Impairment (HI), Visual Impairment (VI), Physical Disability (PD), and Intellectual Disability (ID) did not show a consistent increase after 2020. The number of students with HI decrease after 2020 and increase from 2023 to 2024. The number of students with VI remained consistent until it decreased in 2022 and continued. The number of students with PD remained the same until its increase in 2022 then decreased in 2023. Lastly, the number of students with ID decreased in 2020 and then increased in 2021.

In summary, while it is true that not all students with SEN increased in 2020. However, given that the number of students identified with SpLD, AD/HD, ASD, MI, and SLI all saw an increase, and they take up a high portion of the SEN student population, it could therefore be said that the majority of secondary students with SEN increased in 2020.

3. What led to an increase in SEN students?

According to the Hong Kong Journal of Paediatrics, the increase of SEN students in 2020 to 2021 is related to the greater awareness among parents and professionals regarding the identification of SEN children through thr new On-site Pre-school Rehabilitation Services. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has modified nurturing environment of many children which can significantly change children’s development, hence causing more children to be categorized as SEN students.

Conclusion

The number of SEN students in Hong Kong has experienced an increase from 2019 to 2024. While genetics can contribute to the development of SEN conditions such as Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD). Since the majority of these conditions peaked or increased in 2020 and continued to rise thereafter, this suggests that the lack of social interactions experienced by children during the pandemic may have contributed to the increase in the number of SEN students.