Only 1 in 10 Hong Kong pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds secure government-funded university places after DSE exams over last 5 years
- Entrance rate for Chinese-speaking pupils is almost three times higher over same period, government figures show
- Experts say figures underline that low levels of proficiency in Chinese are main barrier to admission to public universities
Ethnic minority figures and teachers said the government statistics underlined that low proficiency in Chinese language was the main reason for consistently low admission rates for ethnic minority candidates over the years.
They appealed for non-Chinese speaking children to be placed in mainstream kindergartens and for effective supervision of the funding earmarked to help them.
Education Bureau figures obtained by the Post showed that between 106 and 149 non-Chinese speaking children sitting the city’s university entrance exams obtained a government-funded university place each year over the past five years.
There were between 1,094 and 1,245 such children who sat the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams every year over the same period.
The figures mean one in 10 non-Chinese speaking pupils who took DSE exams in Hong Kong secured a subsidised place over the past five years.
