Primary One ‘door-knocking’: Hong Kong parents disgruntled with allocations flock to popular schools such as Diocesan Preparatory and La Salle
- Parents out in force in eleventh-hour scramble for places despite nearly three-quarters of pupils securing one of their top three choices
- Nearly 5,000 fewer pupils entering the city’s primary system in coming year, raising fears of classroom closures
Parents unhappy with the allocation of Primary One places descended on popular schools in Hong Kong on Saturday in a last-ditch bid to secure the education wanted for their children.
The rush on schools came despite a drop in the number of pupils seeking entry into the city’s primary system and the highest success rating for the process since 2011.
More than 27,000 pupils across the city found out where they will be starting school in 2019-20 with the release of the Central Allocation for Primary One Admission results.
Those whose children landed the school of their choice shed tears of joy, but for others the outcome was cause for disappointment.
“This is the happiest day of my life, even beats my wedding day,” said a mother who only wanted to be known as Yung, whose child will attend Diocesan Preparatory School, a popular and elite school in Kowloon Tong.
Another proud parent, surnamed Wong, screamed out in joy when she learned her son will be going to La Salle Primary School.
“We are going to host a dinner party of 10 tables to celebrate,” she added.
The mum revealed the family moved to Kowloon Tong to try and increase their chances of securing their preferred school.
This year, a total of 27,334 children took part in the central allocation – 4,837 fewer than last year.
Of those, 19,992 were granted one of their first three choices, a success rate of 73.1 per cent, an eight-year high.
Even with the improved match-up rate, some still tried their luck by dropping last-minute applications at preferred schools, known as the “door-knocking” process.
Parents of ‘dragon babies’ vie for coveted Primary One spots
A father, who only gave his surname as Liu, told reporters he planned to go to six to seven other schools on Saturday because his daughter did not get one of her first three choices.
“It is what it is, we have prepared for this and we’ve got the application forms filled out and our daughter is interview-ready,” Liu said.
Another mother, surnamed Mo, whose son was given a place at a her 13th choice school, said she was lost for words.
“I don’t even remember that I had filled in this school as a choice. I don’t know what to do now,” Mo said.
According to the Education Bureau, the number of Primary One students was expected to decline by 10,000 from 65,700 in the 2018-19 school year to 55,700 this coming year.
The number of cross-border pupils also dropped more than half from 3,327 last year to 1,157 in 2019.
Over the past few years the bulk of the city’s primary school cohort have been pupils living across the border from Hong Kong – babies born to mainland Chinese women.
But that changed this year when the city’s government began prohibiting hospitals from taking in mainland women to give birth in 2013.
A woman known as Li, from Lo Wu, sighed and said her daughter was allocated to a school in Tai Po which would make her daily commute from Shenzhen unbearable.
“My mind is a blank right now. I guess we will try other schools in Sheung Shui because that is closer to the border and would be less of a hassle for my girl,” the mother said, noting she had no plans to return to the mainland for schooling due to the quality of education in Hong Kong.
As the Primary One population continues to drop in the city, members of the education sector are worried schools might face a reduction of classes or even closures of schools.
‘Phantom pupils’ school sees 24 per cent plunge in enrolment
Earlier, the Subsidised Primary Schools Council and the Hong Kong Aided Primary School Heads Association suggested local schools limit the amount of last-minute places.
“We made the recommendation because the situation now is that some schools are overwhelmed with applications while those less popular in the district fear they will be forced to close if they do not admit enough students,” said Cheung Yung-pong, chairman of the Hong Kong Aided Primary School Heads Association.
