International Journal of Education

Guided by the national strategy of building the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) into an education highland, credit recognition and transfer, as a key link to break down various educational barriers and facilitate cross-regional talent mobility, has attracted widespread attention for its policy design and practical effects. With a mature qualifications framework system, Hong Kong has established a credit recognition and transfer mechanism that integrates international standards with local characteristics. As a forerunner in the construction of regional qualifications frameworks in mainland China, Guangdong has developed a uniquely innovative practical path based on its credit bank system. The differences and commonalities between the policy documents of the two regions in terms of legislative basis, quality assurance, and scope of implementation not only reflect the path choices for lifelong education development under different institutional environments, but also bear on the progress of mutual recognition of learning outcomes in the GBA. Focusing on the policy documents of credit recognition and transfer in Guangdong and Hong Kong, this paper conducts a comparative analysis of their core elements and implementation logic, aiming to provide valuable references for deepening the alignment of educational rules between the two regions and improving the national qualifications framework for lifelong education.

Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA); Credit recognition; Credit transfer; Policy text