The Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) is devoting increasing amounts of resources to education. As well as providing 15 years of free education for each young person in all public schools, Macao also has seen expansion of its network of private schools covered by the free-education scheme. This is to ensure that families in need do not face a barrier in accessing such services.

The ‘Central Registration for Children Entering Kindergarten for the First Time’ has been introduced to optimise the mechanism and simplify the procedures by which parents can enrol their infants for such education. It is designed to save parents time. There is no need for them to visit every available kindergarten nor to fill in separate application forms for each one.

In order to promote in Macao the teaching of the Portuguese language and cultivate a system whereby more people are bilingual in Chinese and Portuguese, the Macao SAR Government has established dual-language classes in the public schools. The aim is to make Portuguese a general subject in education.

In line with the policy vision “letting Macao thrive through education" and "building Macao with talent", the Government has stepped up effort to advance its “Blue Sky Project”. It aims to assist those schools operating on the podium of a building to move to other, purpose-built facilities, in order to provide a better environment for education.

In order to press ahead with its strategy for transforming Macao into a “Healthy City”, the SAR Government has issued guidance on particular education topics – to be aimed at primary- and secondary-school students – covering maintenance of personal health. The policy platform supports schools in managing and analysing health data from students, in order to tailor sports activities for their healthy growth and development.

The Macao SAR Government has committed itself to promoting science education. By supporting schools in terms of participation in – and organisation of – science activities, it hopes to enhance innovative thinking in young people and promote their capacity in science subjects.

With the concerted support of the Central Government, four state laboratories have been established within Macao’s higher education system. They are: the State Key Laboratory of Analog and Mixed-Signal VLSI (Very-large-scale integration); the State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine; the State Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences; and the State Key Laboratory of Internet of Things for Smart City.

The proportion of the Macao working population with a higher-education degree has risen from 11.06 percent in the year the SAR was established, to 36.43 percent in 2018; three times as many. Currently, one in every three Macao employees has a tertiary-education qualification.

The Macao SAR Government has launched a series of measures to support students in their studies. They include an allowance for stationery for higher-education students, and interest-free credit to help graduates pursue language training. The latter scheme has now been extended to cover training in all languages, with a view to enhance labour-market competitiveness of Macao young people.

The SAR Government attaches great importance to the career-planning efforts and personal development of young people. The Government seeks to provide – via exhibitions and lectures – more information about further study, so students can respectively develop appropriate plans.