Admission process brings more protest
Seven more complaints against schools breaking the Sixth Form admission procedure were received yesterday as students continued their rush for remaining places.
A total of 3,922 Form Six places are still available for application today as the admission enters its third and fourth stages. The vacancies include 84 arts and 13 science-stream places in Tai Po.
Fifty-two students went to the Tai Po joint admission centre yesterday and 33 were offered places.
Students with minimum Advanced-level entry requirements can apply to their own or linked schools this morning, or to other schools in the afternoon.
The Education Department yesterday reminded schools to follow the procedures. A spokeswoman confirmed it received seven more complaints yesterday.
'Five of the complaints concerned schools not following the admission methods. Schools have chosen in advance between two admission methods. They can either admit students after the whole stage or immediately after interviews,' she said.
'Two complaints are about the admission procedures. We are still investigating the complaints. It's too early to say whether the complaints are substantiated.' She said these complaints followed two received on Tuesday. One was about admitting a student earlier than allowed and another on charging a student extra fees.
Calls from students and parents are still flooding counselling organisations.
The Education Department's central hotlines and its district education offices handled 307 and 809 inquiries respectively.
The Hok Yau Club has received more than 8,600 calls since last Thursday and had more than 2,500 yesterday.
The number of calls received up to yesterday was 70 per cent higher than at a similar stage last year.
About 90 per cent of the callers required counselling, four per cent admitted they were very unhappy and three per cent said they were deeply disturbed.
Twenty-two per cent of the callers asked about Sixth Form vacancies, 16 per cent about repeating Form Five and 10 per cent about the general admission procedure.
