The rush is on: Hong Kong schools absorb commuting pupils from mainland China
Classroom shortages force cuts in number of classes amid influx of pupils
Some schools in the eight districts which set aside Primary One places for Hong Kong pupils living on the mainland this school year have been forced to slash classes after the influx of mainland children led to a shortage of classrooms.
Primary schools in the eight districts opened a total of 23 new classes this year to cope with cross-border pupils, but for some schools where the number of new pupils outweighed those graduating, the influx led to a classroom shortage. Principals said many schools in the districts were already at capacity last year, when the government enlarged the catchment area for allocating places to cross-border pupils to take in the eight districts.
They said if the number of cross-border children continued to grow, schools would need to increase class sizes from 25 to 30 pupils to cram all the new children into limited classrooms.
They urged the government to further extend the catchment area to more districts.
The latest primary school profiles, released yesterday, show the eight districts have seen 44 Primary One classes cut this school year. The districts are Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, North district, Wong Tai Sin, Tai Po, Ma On Shan, Tsing Yi and Tung Chung.
Yuen Long has seen 13 classes dropped, while Tuen Mun and North district have each cut 11.