Tsing Yi schools puts cross-border pupils on the register
Schools on the island agree to help share the burden of educating an estimated 2,600 Hong Kong-born pupils living across the border
For the first time, cross-border pupils will join primary schools in Tsing Yi in the next school year after education chiefs asked three schools in Kwai Tsing district to share the burden of educating Hong Kong-born children.
The Education Bureau has set aside 2,612 Primary One places from 127 schools in eight districts for cross-border students in the central allocation process, compared to 122 schools from seven districts last year, figures released yesterday show.
Tuen Mun and Yuen Long districts will contribute 1,582 places - about 60 per cent - while the two districts closest to the border, and traditionally most popular, North District and Tai Po, will need to reserve only 405 places. This means many cross-border children will face long journeys to attend schools they did not apply for.
The other districts participating are Wong Tai Sin, Ma On Shan and Tung Chung.
Pang Siu-leung, principal of YCH Chiu Tsang Hok Wan Primary School in Tsing Yi, said the district was asked to help out as the urban island south of Tsuen Wan was more convenient to get to than Tung Chung for children living in Shenzhen. The school has reserved 75 places for cross-border pupils.
Last year, many parents of the cross-border pupils - who have the right to a free education in Hong Kong but not on the mainland - chose to give up their children's allocated places in Tung Chung to try to grab left-over places in schools closer to the border.
"We expect to open two or three more Primary One classes for cross-border students," said Pang. "We've been contacting school bus providers and we've been promoting our school on the mainland. Many parents have told us that our school will be their first choice."