Non-locals dominate higher education in 2022-2023

In the 2022-2023 academic year, nearly 50,000 people were enrolled in higher education programs at Macau’s tertiary education institutions, according to a report from the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ).

The “An Overview of Educational Statistics 2023” report reveals that out of 49,594 students, 68.88% (34,160) were non-local students, while locals accounted only for 15,434.

This proportion of non-local students was largely attributed to those attending Macau’s private higher education institutions, where 84.68% (25,871) were non-locals.

The number of local students only marginally surpassed non-locals at public higher education institutions, with locals accounting for 56.47% (10,755), outnumbering non-local students by around 2,500.

The report also highlighted a consistent increase in the number of students attending local universities over the past five academic years (2018-2019 to 2022-2023).

The largest increase year-on-year occurred between 2021-2022, with a 12.7%  increase compared to 2020-2021, followed closely by a 12.6% increase in 2022-2023.

Bachelor’s degrees account for two-thirds of students

About 62.8% of all students enrolled in programs in Macau are registered in bachelor’s degree programs, while master’s degrees comprise 25.6%.

Doctorate degrees account for 11.1% of enrolled students, while the remaining 1% comprises diploma and postgraduate courses.

Private institutions led enrollment numbers across all programs, particularly in master’s programs, where they represented 68.8% of total students enrolled in master’s programs.

The majority of students in postgraduate and diploma studies were enrolled in private institutions, accounting for between 82% to 92% of this type of program.

In contrast, the public sector saw its highest proportion of students in bachelor’s degree programs, accounting for almost 42% of enrollments.

Regarding the number of students enrolled in various programs over the last five academic years, the overall trends demonstrate an increase in the number of students in each program every year since 2018-2019.

‘BA and Law’ and ‘Humanities and Arts’ top study area preferences

Business Administration (BA) and Law, along with Humanities and Arts, were the most popular fields of study for students enrolled at local universities over the past five years.

Since 2018-2019, business administration and law saw 68,102 students, 34% of all students and the largest share in terms of preferred fields of study.

Humanities and Arts followed with 16% (32,419), with the Service Industry coming third with 15% (31,257).

These three overarching areas accounted for almost two-thirds of all students in Macau.

Areas prioritized by the government, such as health and welfare, information and communications technology, and science, saw fewer enrollments, accounting for 8%, 5%, and 2% respectively.

In contrast to existing trends, science saw significant growth between 2018-2019 and 2020-2021 but enrollments dropped more than 50% in 2021-2022, below levels seen in 2018-2019.

Notably, the ICT field surpassed education for the first time last year, with a 19% year-on-year increase compared to 2021-2022.

In addition to the top three fields of study previously mentioned, other popular fields include social sciences, journalism and health and welfare.

PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS EMPLOY MORE NON-LOCAL TEACHERS

The DSEDJ annual report noted private institutions mostly employ non-local teaching staff, echoing trends seen among student enrollments. Similarly, public institutions employ more local teaching staff.

The percentage of non-local teaching staff rose to 60.72% (470) in private universities.

Overall, 1,722 full-time teachers were employed across all institutions, with 57.84% (996) being locals and the other 726 being non-locals.