Hong Kong should gradually expand its non-local university student numbers to carefully balance their learning experience, social acceptance and potential effects on the rental market, according to an academic specialising in education policy.

Joshua Mok Ka-ho, provost and vice-president of Hang Seng University, also said the city had to increase efforts to attract more top-quality scholars and address high rental prices if it aimed to become an education hub.

In his annual policy address earlier this month, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu proposed raising each public university’s enrolment cap for non-local undergraduate students to 50 per cent of local students, up from the current 40 per cent, starting from the next academic year.

This measure forms part of efforts to develop Hong Kong into an international education hub.

Mok said the new policy was on the right track but called for a progressive increase in the intake of non-local students, warning that a “bottleneck” in hostel availability would make it difficult for them to secure accommodation, thereby affecting their learning experience.

He added that a gradual expansion, rather than a sharp influx, would also help improve inclusiveness within society.