UpdateHundreds join queue for Sheung Shui kindergarten interviews
Stream of parents and children arrive at popular Sheung Shui preschool as selection begins
Hundreds of children and their parents crowded outside Fung Kai Kindergarten in Sheung Shui, yesterday as the first round of pupil interviews for the popular preschool got under way.
Last week parents formed long queues and waited for days to pick up application forms, with some camping overnight.
Kindergartens in Sheung Shui and Fanling are under increased pressure because of an influx of Hong Kong-born mainland children seeking places in competition with local children.
On Friday the Education Bureau announced measures to address local parents' concerns, including one that requires them to produce a letter issued by the bureau when they register for a kindergarten. The ruling, which only applies to schools in North District or Tai Po, is intended to stop parents registering at many preschools at the same time.
A Ms Yu, who applied to eight kindergartens for her daughter, said the government should have planned better for the situation. "It was only thinking about money when it allowed mainland mothers to give birth in Hong Kong," she said. "It did not think about issues after that."
She complained that some kindergartens only conducted interviews in Cantonese, limiting the chances for children like her daughter. "It's discrimination," she said.