Reflections: more schools over border would ease demand for places in HK

The queues of mainland families waiting for application forms at local kindergartens grow longer by the year. At the schools closest to the border, parents with older children born in Hong Kong do not hesitate to compete for primary school places in the city.

The surging demand from mainland parents eager for their children to have a Hong Kong education has caught the schools and the Education Bureau unprepared. That demand has also put pressure on facilities in North district, close to Shenzhen, drawing complaints from parents about the dwindling supply of available school places.

There was a breakthrough late last month when the bureau announced more places would be provided for pupils who commute across the border.

Some 3,000 Primary One places at 122 schools will be reserved for mainland children living closest to Hong Kong. Up to 70 schools in Tuen Mun and Yuen Long will offer 2,350 of these first-year places through the allocation system. Schools in other districts, including Tai Po, Tung Chung and Wong Tai Sin, will also allocate more places for cross-border pupils.

Undersecretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung says the new arrangements are intended to ease the pressure on popular schools in North district, such as Sheung Shui.

Will it work? Will mainland parents choose schools farther from the border?

There are thought to be 16,000 pupils - 3,000 more than there were in 2012 - who cross the border to attend school here. Their number could rise as the free, less political and bilingual education system here has a greater appeal for parents than arrangements on the mainland.