‘Rethink needed’ on Hong Kong Primary One places allocation system as success rate hits new low
Influx of cross-border pupils and rise in birth rate, coupled with ‘inherited applicants’, mean more children unable to secure school of choice
The first round of the primary school places allocation system, which prioritises children with family ties to schools, has come under fire from educators, who say that the scheme needs to be reconsidered as the success rate of such allocations has fallen to a new low in almost two decades.
Only 41.5 per cent of some 57,800 children taking part in the discretionary allocation secured a place in the school of their choice – the lowest in the last 19 years. The success rate last year was 42.6 per cent while in 1997, it was 56.5 per cent.
The discretionary allocation process is the first in two rounds of exercises for schools to fill their Primary One classes. During this round, primary schools will set aside half of their first-year classes for families living in all districts to apply, unlike the central allocation system, where parents can only apply to schools in the same district.
Places are distributed based on a point system, where applicants with family ties to the school of their choice – such as siblings already studying there or parents who are working at the school – will get a place by default. Added to that, such hopefuls – also known as inherited applicants – whose siblings or parents are alumni or board members of the applied schools will get more points, therefore having a greater advantage.
Other points are assigned based on factors such as applicants’ ages, and their family’s connections with the schools’ religious backgrounds or operators.