Only 1 in 10 Hong Kong pupils are born to mainland Chinese parents, says state mouthpiece

A state newspaper on Monday rejected claims that children born to mainland parents were putting a strain on educational resources in Hong Kong.

Only 10 per cent of cross-border students in Hong Kong were born locally to mainland parents, Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily claimed in article published on Monday, adding that this figure had only risen about 1.6 per cent since 2006 when the figure stood at 16,000.

Other cross-border pupils in Hong Kong, the article said, had at least one Hong Kong parent, or had parents that were living across the border in Shenzhen.

The newspaper quoted Fung Kai No 1 Primary School principal Liu Chi-leung as saying most of his students were from Hong Kong and only 40 students in the school were born to parents without permanent residency – most of which were in primary one and two.

“If all students are from Hong Kong, then competition for education resources does not exist," Liu was quoted by the People’s Daily as saying.

The People’s Daily article also quotes Wai Chow Public School (Sheung Shui) principal Chan Shiu-hung as saying only 10 students at his school were born in Hong Kong to non-Hong Kong permanent residents.