I refer to the report headlined, 'IIs 'left in lurch' on places at school', which appeared in the South China Morning Post, on August 5.
The Hong Kong Committee on Children's Rights is concerned about the educational needs of children born in China to Hong Kong residents during the period when their resident status is being clarified.
We raised our concern on this issue with the Home Affairs Branch back in early 1995. The reply was the same as that which subsequently appeared in paragraph 388 of the 1996 Initial Report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in respect of Hong Kong under Article 44 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), that is, 'Children aged between six and 15 years who will have the right of abode in Hong Kong after 1997 may remain in Hong Kong pending decisions on their appeal to be allowed to stay prior to 1997 . . . these children may in the meantime be admitted to public or private schools in Hong Kong and have access to other facilities available to children resident in Hong Kong.' This is the commitment the Government of Hong Kong conveyed to the UN. We see no difference regarding the rights of these children to education after July, 1997, as Hong Kong has agreed to abide by the convention before or after the change of sovereignty.
Article 28 of the CRC states that 'State Parties recognise the right of the child to education . . . on the basis of equal opportunity . . . '. Article 2 also states that the 'State Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child . . . without discrimination . . . '.
We urge the Government to fulfil its commitment and convey its policy clearly to its policy branches and school principals. For a child, 'My name is Today'. Time passed is time lost. We should not allow bureaucracy to get in the way of a child's basic right to education.
PATRICIA IP Chairperson The Hong Kong Committee on Children's Rights
