Total of cross-border pupils to quadruple to 80,000 by 2017, say Shenzhen officials

Shenzhen authorities expect the number of cross-border schoolchildren to reach as high as 80,000 by 2017, four times the current number, a social service group said yesterday.

This emerged as new research showed that almost 85 per cent of cross-border pupils intended to continue studying in Hong Kong and 70 per cent wanted to work in the city.

Cheung Yuk-ching, cross-border programme director of the International Social Service Hong Kong branch, said officials of Shenzhen's Foreign Affairs Office told her privately that based on the current growth rate, they estimated the numbers would reach 65,000 to 80,000 in the 2017-18 school year.

"The competition for kindergarten places was so intense last year," Cheung said. "The impact on Hong Kong will be huge."

The figures on children wanting to continue their links with Hong Kong came from a survey of 710 cross-border pupils by the Federation of Youth Groups.

The survey also found that schools in Shenzhen designed for Hong Kong pupils were not really attractive to the young commuters. North District, the area nearest the border, had to turn away 1,400 potential Primary One pupils last year due to a lack of places caused by the influx of cross-border children.

In October last year, hundreds of parents took to the streets in Fanling, North District, demanding the government intervene in the heated competition for kindergarten places and give priority to children living in the district.