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Hong Kong education chiefs set to back plan to cut 1,000 places parents can apply for at preferred primary schools to save less popular ones from closure
- School bodies say cut to discretionary places at popular primaries could help tackle under-enrolment and risk of closure at other schools
- Some experts say change would also halt ‘musical chairs’ as parents try to get their children into more popular schools
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Hong Kong education authorities are poised to accept a proposal to axe more than 1,000 classroom places that parents can apply for at preferred schools in a bid to tackle the problem of under-enrolment and risk of closure for less popular ones, the Post has learned.
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The proposal to halve the present two discretionary places in each class was raised by two influential primary school councils.
Parents of children starting primary and secondary education can approach their preferred school if they are unhappy with central allocation results – known as “door-knocking”.
Each class in more than 80 per cent of primary schools has two vacancies for children who need to repeat a year. But most public schools traditionally use them to admit “door-knocking pupils” as they are allowed to pick applicants.
Langton Cheung Yung-pong, honorary chairman of the Hong Kong Aided Primary School Heads Association and a head teacher, said the proposed cut could help schools threatened with closure by falling enrolment.
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