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More than half of the 32,000 school-age Shenzhen children born in Hong Kong cross the border for their education, officials in the neighbouring city say.
They say that, like Hong Kong, Shenzhen is under pressure to find school places for those who stay because they don't qualify for public schools.
The facts were given to Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong lawmakers when they met officials from the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and the Shenzhen Education Bureau yesterday.
Gary Chan Hak-kan and Ip Kwok-him said the bureau told them it was facing difficulties in placing Hong Kong-born children in schools because 15,000 stayed in Shenzhen for education, while 17,000 went to school in Hong Kong.
The bureau predicted that by 2018, the number of children at school who were born in Hong Kong to Shenzhen parents would peak at 50,000.
One reason the children flock to the city for education is because they cannot be registered as permanent residents in Shenzhen, so they cannot enrol in public schools there.
Chan said the officials were positive about letting those children go to Shenzhen public schools, but as the matter was complicated, they could not say when it would be possible.
"The issue can't be dealt with by Shenzhen alone. It's about whether Hongkongers can be treated as full Chinese nationals," Ip said.
There are two schools teaching a Hong Kong curriculum in Shenzhen, but they only accept children with at least one Hong Kong parent. The lawmakers said the Shenzhen bureau would encourage those schools to admit children whose parents were mainlanders.
Ip said more schools with a Hong Kong curriculum should be built and they should provide free education to children with permanent residency in Hong Kong. Kindergarten vouchers, provided by the Hong Kong government to subsidise school fees, should be allowed in Shenzhen schools recognised by the Hong Kong government, he said.
There is a shortage of school places in Hong Kong because of an influx of cross-border children. Hundreds of parents camped outside kindergartens in the North District last week for application forms, forcing the government to introduce measures to address parents' worries. One is that parents have to present an Education Bureau letter when they register children with a kindergarten, so one child only can register for one place.
In June, parents scrambled for primary school places in North District. Extra places were added in the district and a lottery scheme introduced so children living in the northern area, but allocated to schools in Tai Po, could go to a school nearer their homes.
 


Shenzhen also faces schooling pressure

Lawmakers meet neighbouring city's officials to try to solve problem of how to cope with Hong Kong-born children's educational needs. 

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Hong Kong

Lawmakers meet neighbouring city's officials to try to solve problem of how to cope with Hong Kong-born children's educational needs


Shenzhen also faces schooling pressure

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Lawmakers meet neighbouring city's officials to try to solve problem of how to cope with Hong Kong-born children's educational needs

Lawmakers meet neighbouring city's officials to try to solve problem of how to cope with Hong Kong-born children's educational needs