Schools near border in Hong Kong struggle to cope with surge in pupils
Numbers surge with influx of children born in Hong Kong to mainland parents
Schools in North District say they have been overwhelmed by the number of cross-border pupils, despite increasing their capacity to cope with an expected surge.
Their ranks have been boosted by children reaching school age who were born in Hong Kong to mainland parents. And pupils unable to find places in the district are heading for other districts further from their homes in Shenzhen.
Nine of the 28 schools in the district have expanded but principals say it is not enough.
The situation has angered North District residents whose children are also unable to find places in nearby schools and have had to seek places in districts such as Tai Po and Yuen Long.
Chan Siu-hung, headmaster of Wai Chow Public School in Sheung Shui, said there was discontent in the community. Some parents had blamed pupils from across the border for the lack of places.
"They come to beg for our school to take them in, but all the seats are full," he said. "There's nothing I can do."
According to the Education Bureau, nine schools have increased capacity by the equivalent of 11 classes.