Non-Chinese children who are unable to attend international schools will start their classes in a subsidised primary school next month.
The Yau Ma Tei Kai Fong Association School is the first subsidised school providing Primary One to Six classes in the English medium.
The others are two government schools - Li Cheung Uk Government Primary (PM) School and Sir Ellis Kadoorie Primary School (Soo Kun Po).
Kai Fong Association School director Po Wai-ching said most students' parents could not afford to pay the fees charged by international schools. Ms Po said the adults were too busy to take care of their children. As a result, some of them were left unattended at home, while others spent their time in the playground, she said.
The school will open six classes from Primary One to Six, to be conducted in English, on February 1. It already runs Chinese classes.
More than 180 students, mainly of Pakistani or Indian origin who are Hong Kong residents but do not speak Cantonese, will attend the English classes.
'We have received encouraging responses from parents, police and social workers. We now have more than 30 students in each class and cannot admit any more,' Ms Po said.
