North District parents take to streets to demand classroom guarantee

Parents worried about the competition for school places in North District will rally on Sunday to urge the government to promise that every child of Hong Kong parents can get into kindergarten and primary school.

They plan to protest either outside the government headquarters or in North District, depending on whether supporters of HKTV stay at Tamar until the weekend. The parents are now promoting the rally through social media platforms.

The decision came after the Education Bureau announced six emergency measures to be applied to kindergartens in North District and Tai Po earlier this month, in a move to ease the increasing pressure from cross-border children on local schools.

But Sheung Shui/Fanling Mama Club parents complained the new rules all had loopholes and lacked binding power.

The measures include limiting parents to register at only one kindergarten - instead of several as many do now - with a government-issued letter. Schools should also distribute an unlimited amount of forms online and consider admitting children living in the local district first.

After a meeting with education minister Eddie Ng Hak-kim, club members said Ng did not answer to their request for a list of kindergartens in North District that would practise the new policy. "So far, it's only the government that's been talking," club spokeswoman Zoe Fung Hoi-yan said. "We want a better promise."