The law in Hong Kong is very clear. All children are entitled to nine years' statutory education and, in principle, that is what is on offer. But not in fact.
If the 85 Nepali pupils taking lessons in a disused shopping centre in Yuen Long had been able to get into local schools, they would not be going to Poinsettia Primary, the makeshift school run by a handful of dedicated teachers, only four of whom are qualified.
The situation reflects a serious challenge to the Education Department. It will not do to claim that the places are there, or that children rejected by one school can try another. Most have gone through that exercise and know how futile it is.
Suggesting that parents send them to English Schools Foundation institutes is simply losing touch with reality.
Most of these migrants are in menial jobs and some cannot even afford the $975 monthly fees that Poinsettia Primary charges in an effort to pay the rent on seven shops used as classrooms.
The heart-warming response from Post readers to Wednesday's cover article in the Features section has saved the school from imminent closure. Donations are pouring in from people touched by the pupils' plight. However, public sympathy cannot solve the long-term problem that stems from the growing number of Nepali migrants.
