Researchers from the Alliance for Children Development Rights said the survey they conducted between June and August showed the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) had failed to achieve its target of being diversified and catering to students’ different abilities. Although the curriculum included academic-oriented and skill-based subjects, teaching and assessment focused on academic subjects, thus discouraging students from taking up applied learning.

The survey also found a lack of career choices, with 41 per cent of interviewees believing they would not be doing what they wanted or were talented in after graduation. These respondents cited a lack of training in secondary schools, a lack of career choices, a lack of opportunities in the fields in which they excelled and low salaries in the fields they liked.

Source: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2000495/senior-hong-kong-students-believe-secondary

British Council comment, by Anna Lee, Senior Marketing Services Manager, Education.

Since the launch of the HKDSE examination, it has become the only public exit exam, determining the future of secondary school students. Academic achievement is considered the sole pathway for success, which means good exams scores could guarantee good jobs, good salary and better career prospects. Students in Hong Kong are therefore taught to value education for utilitarian considerations, rather than their own interests and talents.  Escaping this single pathway is one of the main reasons why thousands of students from Hong Kong look to study overseas each year.

SCMP also mentioned that a high proportion of students ditched the "harder" or "less practical" subjects in which they are unlikely to attain high grades or which may not help their admission to university.  

UK institutions should be aware when talking to Hong Kong students that they may not have put much thought into subject or career choices, as they are not encouraged to do so under the local system. Alternatively some students who have decided what they want to do may be looking overseas for options that don’t exist locally. Articulating personal interests is also something which Hong Kong students may struggle with in UCAS applications.