Cross-border students may resume in-person classes in Hong Kong from February 1, but parents’ group wants date pushed to April

Cross-border students living in mainland China may resume in-person classes in Hong Kong from February 1 under the latest plan by authorities, but parents had instead called for a resumption in April, citing the recent surge in Covid-19 infections and the need for schools to make adequate preparations.

The education sector and parents have welcomed the highly anticipated reopening of the border between Hong Kong and the mainland, but both groups said ample time was needed to restart in-person classes.

The city’s Education Bureau and school headmaster groups on Wednesday tentatively agreed to let cross-border secondary school students return to the city from February 1, followed by primary school pupils on February 15, in alignment with proposed dates for full-day, in-person classes to resume for all other students in Hong Kong.

Thousands of cross-border students have withdrawn from Hong Kong schools over the past three years as Covid-related travel restrictions, such as quarantine rules, made it impractical to attend classes in person. Those who did not withdraw have had to attend classes uniquely online.

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A parents’ group representing cross-border students on Tuesday wrote to Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu to suggest pushing back the return to in-person classes for mainland-based pupils to April 2023 or later.

Prior to Wednesday’s agreement being struck, some of the parents feared their children would be required to resume classes in Hong Kong prior to the Lunar New Year holiday.

In its letter, the group wrote: “At present, the number of confirmed cases in [the mainland and Hong Kong] continues to reach new highs … although some kids have received three jabs, no one can guarantee that they will not be infected and have their health put at risk after infection.”

According to official figures, around 18,000 Hong Kong students living on the mainland attended the city’s kindergartens and primary and secondary schools during the academic year of 2021-22, down by more than 30 per cent from 27,000 in 2020-21. Numbers for the current academic year are not yet available.

Wong Ching-hong, president of the group, on Wednesday said it would be “very chaotic during the initial stage of the border reopening and the pandemic on the mainland is now serious”.

He said students living across the border who had signed up to study on the mainland in the past three years now needed time to withdraw.

The group also said some students needed time to renew their expired immigration permits.

“Students are surely happy that they can go back to Hong Kong schools, but not all of a sudden without time to get prepared.”

According to education sector lawmaker Chu Kwok-keung, officials and some school headmaster groups made a tentative agreement on Wednesday that secondary students, who usually travelled across the border on their own, could return to campuses on February 1, while primary pupils, who mostly commuted on special school buses, could begin on February 15.

The lawmaker said schools could choose to postpone the return of their cross-border students as the proposed dates were not final or binding.

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Chu Wai-lam, vice-chairman of the New Territories School Heads Association and headmaster of Fung Kai No 1 Primary School in Sheung Shui, was briefed about the Wednesday meeting and said the proposed dates were “reasonable”.

He said the return of students to campuses could help young children develop socialising skills, and reduce the burden of teaching staff in setting up remote learning for pupils living on the mainland.

He noted that school bus companies that used to pick up younger students at the border would need more time to hire drivers and nannies, as well as reapply for permits to operate at the border.

He also warned of a potential school bus capacity crunch. “I know some companies have shut down due to the pandemic. Others have been sold off, while the rest are still keeping a fleet of buses,” he said.

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Chou Jianfeng, 42, a father of two boys living in Futian district of Shenzhen, said he and his 10-year-old son were “very happy and excited” after learning the border would be reopened.

“I will definitely let him go back to school in Hong Kong once he is allowed, as we have been looking forward to the border reopening for a very long time,” he said.

“He stopped going to the Hong Kong school when he studied in Primary Two and now he is studying in Primary Five – it means he had attended online classes for three years,” the father said, adding he had to arrange for his son to go to a tutorial centre so he could socialise with other pupils.

“He sat in front of the iPad or the computer to have online classes for all three years … we found he could not communicate well with others, and sometimes he could not stay focused on learning, as he did not pick up good habits in a school environment,” he said.

An Education Bureau spokeswoman on Thursday said gradual and orderly arrangements would be made for cross-border pupils to attend classes in Hong Kong based on the overall border crossing situation and infection control measures in schools after the Lunar New Year holiday. She added that suitable support would be provided.