Legislators have launched a cross-party appeal to the government to remove a social needs test from a fee remission scheme for children in pre-school education.
Legco's education panel voted unanimously at a meeting yesterday in favour of abolishing the social needs test, which was introduced into the kindergarten sector when it was merged with the childcare centre sector last year.
In the new unified, pre-school sector, parents have to pass the social needs test, which formerly applied to child care centres only, to qualify for fee remission for full-day schooling. Those who do not can only obtain fee remission for half-day sessions.
To qualify, parents also have to meet a means test for assistance at 100 per cent, 75 per cent and 50 per cent, which previously applied only to kindergartens. Child care was previously on a sliding scale with no pre-set ceiling.
Social welfare legislator Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung said: 'I think we all agree that the criteria are harsh. We now have further problems. We already see that some parents don't get the service.'
In the past six months, more than 600 parents had lost the opportunity for pre-school education for their child because they did not meet the social needs test.