Hong Kong parents say competition for school places still tough, despite overall success rate reaching 11-year high
- Number of those applying for spots drops amid declining birth rate and emigration
- Despite results being sent out in an email, some parents still went to schools to see child’s name on list
Some Hong Kong parents who received allocation results on Monday said competition for elite campuses in the city remained keen, despite the overall success rate of children securing a place at their preferred primary school hitting an 11-year high.
A total of 22,892 children got their first choice in the Primary One places allocation exercise in a year when there were as many as eight pupils competing for one spot in some instances. The overall success rate among the 48,080 students was 47.6 per cent.
Among the discretionary places offered this year, 13,048 children, who have siblings studying or parents working at their preferred school, were automatically enrolled.
The remaining 9,844 students were admitted under a “points system”, while around 25,188 children who did not get into the schools they wanted can join the centralised allocation process in January, with the results announced in June.
More points will be given to firstborn children, those with the same religious affiliation as schools, or if a child’s parents attended the same school. In the event multiple children fulfil the criteria, there will be a draw to decide who gets the place.
The number of students applying for Primary One admission dropped by about 1,600 this year, and that figure is expected to fall in the coming years, with the downward trend putting the future of some schools in doubt.
