EDUCATION chiefs have come under attack after a 13-year-old boy with an exceptionally high IQ but a pitiful classroom record has been turned down for a place in a special school.
The Education Department has been condemned by his principal, Ms Lisa Yip Sau-wah, of Sha Tin Tsung Tsin Secondary School, who has been forced to make special provision for him in her school.
Ms Yip is convinced the case of the Secondary One student, who is ''very backward in academic attainments'', is not an isolated case, and has raised her concern in a letter to the Director of Education, Mr Dominic Wong Shing-wah.
''Either we tailor-make something for him, by providing primary education in a secondary school setting, and adding to the workload of our teachers who have no training in special education, or we turn a blind eye to the situation by letting him sit in class knowing very well he has little idea of what is going on,'' Ms Yip said.
''The boy has an average intelligence score in verbal skills, but an exceptionally good score of 130 or above in non-verbal reasoning.
''Judging from the assessment conducted by the Education Department, I take it there is nothing wrong with the child's intelligence, although he is seriously behind class level.'' Ms Yip said she thought the boy would be qualified for special education - since the case clearly suggested learning difficulties of some kind - and was not only surprised but disappointed when the department could not offer any help.