Plan to offer lessons in Chinese as a second language remains vague
Ethnic-minority pupils are crying out for the chance to learn Cantonese, but details of new curriculum to help them remain sketchy
Sehrish speaks Cantonese with an accent and often struggles to find the right words. Reading and writing is even worse, she says.
The 16-year-old is of Pakistani descent, but grew up in Hong Kong, going through the segregated local school system.
"I want to take the [Diploma of Secondary Education exam in Chinese language] too; I don't want to take the lower-level, easier exams. But it's too late for me," she adds. The diploma is needed to enter local universities.
Sehrish is exactly the kind of pupil who should benefit from the government's plan to introduce lessons in Chinese as a second language at Primary One level from September. But campaigners say little has been heard since the idea was announced in Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's January policy address.
Sehrish entered an English-language kindergarten and then a primary school designated for ethnic minorities in 2003, as her family had no way of helping her if she went to a mainstream Chinese-language school.
She later attended Delia School in Mei Foo, as her two siblings had before her. The majority of its pupils are from ethnic minorities. She has few Chinese friends because of the language barrier, and the fact she has had little chance to learn Chinese.
Sehrish's story is common among Hong Kong's non-Chinese families - especially those who cannot afford an international school education.