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Following is a question by the Hon Jeffrey Lam and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, in the Legislative Council today (November 27):
Question:
Some members of the business sector have relayed to me that the shortage of international school places in the Hong Kong, in particular primary school places on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon, has deterred quite a number of talents interested in developing their career in Hong Kong from doing so as they are worried of being unable to find suitable schools in Hong Kong for their children. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the average fill-up rate of international schools in Hong Kong in the past five years, the numbers of students waiting for admission to various international schools in Hong Kong at present and their longest waiting time;
(b) although the Education Bureau (EDB) has reportedly said that international school places are currently sufficient overall, given that the business sector has pointed out that places in international primary schools on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon are particularly in short supply, whether the Government has studied if there is a problem of imbalance between the supply of and demand for school places in various districts; if there is such a problem, of the solution;
(c) whether EDB has assessed if the children born to Mainland women whose spouses are not Hong Kong permanent residents (commonly known as doubly non-permanent resident children) coming to Hong Kong for studies will aggravate the problem of insufficient international school places; if so, whether the authorities have studied corresponding solutions;
(d) whether the authorities will consider expediting the vetting and approval of applications of school sponsoring bodies (SSBs) for conversion of vacant school premises into international schools, in order to solve the problem of insufficient international school places; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(e) apart from allocating vacant school premises to SSBs for opening and operating international schools, whether the Government has other measures to solve the problem of insufficient international school places; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Administration is committed to developing a vibrant international school sector mainly to meet the demand for international school places from overseas families living in Hong Kong and families coming to Hong Kong for work or investment. Our response to the five parts of the question is as follows:
(a) Based on the annual student enrolment survey conducted by the Education Bureau, the average fill-up rate of schools operated by the English Schools Foundation (ESF) and private international schools from the 2008/09 to 2012/13 school years is 88.9%. According to the findings of a consultancy study completed at the end of last year, the number of students on the waiting lists for these schools places (Note 1) were 3 918 at primary level and 452 at secondary level in the 2011/12 school year. The number of students on the waiting lists of international schools may be over-reported as some schools did not take out the entries on the waiting list following the subsequent admission of students to other schools. Furthermore, some may apply for more than one school and their applications are covered by the waiting list of different schools. In view of the above, the number of students on the waiting list in the study has been adjusted to take into account the possible over-reporting. We are unable to provide the number of students on the waiting list of individual international schools. In addition, with reference to the Thematic Household Survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department in 2011, of those studying in schools operated by the ESF, private international schools and private independent schools, over 70% had waited for less than six months from submission of application to successful admission to the school. We have not compiled statistics on the waiting time for admission to individual international schools.
(b) Provision of international school places to meet community demand is planned on a territory-wide basis. In view of the expansion plan of the business community, the increase in student population from overseas families coming to Hong Kong, the local demand for international school places, and the unmet demand as derived from the waiting list of international schools, it is projected under the findings of the above-mentioned study that the demand for international school places will increase in the coming five years, resulting in a shortfall of around 4 200 primary places in the 2016/17 school year.
Findings of the consultancy study show that, 54.3% of the international school places were on Hong Kong Island, 25.1% in Kowloon and 20.6% in the New Territories in the 2011/12 school year. Despite the concentration of international school places on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon, only 31.6% and 15.4% of the total international school student population resided respectively on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon. The proportion of students residing in the New Territories (about 28.6%) (Note 2) is higher than that enrolled in schools in the same area (around 20.6%). In other words, a number of students residing in the New Territories have to go to schools on Hong Kong Island or in Kowloon. In view of the above, developing international schools in the New Territories would address the above needs.
Furthermore, the study also finds that the majority of international schools considered that apart from the provision of capital loan for the construction of school premises and the allocation of greenfield sites/vacant school premises close to existing school premises on the Hong Kong Island, the allocation of greenfield sites/vacant school premises in the New Territories is more helpful than allocating greenfield sites/vacant school premises in Kowloon. Given that there are no greenfield sites available on Hong Kong Island for international school development, we will first proceed with the allocation of vacant school premises and greenfield sites in the New Territories in the coming school allocation exercise to increase the supply of international school places.
(c) Demand for international school places projected in the above-mentioned study is based on, amongst others, data collected from the Thematic Household Survey on provision of international school places. The Thematic Household Survey is a territory-wide survey. Children born in Hong Kong to Mainland women whose spouse are non-Hong Kong permanent residents are considered as local residents. The study did not separately assess the demand for international school places from this group of children.
(d) One of our facilitation measures to support the development of the international school sector is to allocate vacant school premises to international school operators such that they can renovate the school premises for operation of international schools. We have allocated seven vacant school premises for the purpose of expansion or reprovisioning of existing international schools, or establishment of new international schools between the 2007/08 and 2012/13 school years. Of which, three vacant school premises were allocated in April this year. They are expected to provide 1 150 additional primary places and 210 secondary places by the 2016/17 school year. We are now consulting the District Councils in respect of two vacant school premises in Tai Po and Southern District for international school development. Should we secure support from the District Councils, we target to launch an Expression of Interest exercise within this year.
On the other hand, processing applications for conversion of vacant school premises depends on a number of factors, including whether the school premises applied for are suitable and available for international school use, whether the plans for expansion or redevelopment require approval from other departments or authorities (such as the Town Planning Board, Buildings Department and Housing Department), whether the applications involve modifying the use of land or buildings as well as the views of the local community. We will continue to provide support and assistance on applications for using vacant school premises for international school development.
(e) Based on findings of the consultancy study and our experience in implementing facilitation measures, we plan to implement various measures in the next few years with a view to effectively addressing the shortage of international school places. Apart from allocating vacant school premises, we will also allocate greenfield sites for development of international schools, enlist support from international schools to better utilise their existing campuses and land to increase school places, and enhance online resources to facilitate expansion or redevelopment projects. In addition, we have written to international schools, appealing to them to utilise the maximum class size so as to ensure effective use of land resources and premises, to accord higher priority to children from overseas families who come to Hong Kong with their parents and to accept children from overseas families whose mother-tongue are not English. We also suggest international schools consider devising an allocation mechanism such that certain proportion of places in the schools would be earmarked for children whose parents are recruited or relocated from outside Hong Kong. We are now consulting relevant District Councils on the use of vacant school premises and greenfield sites in Sai Kung, Tai Po and Southern districts for international school development. If the District Councils support our proposals, we target to launch an Expression of Interest exercise within this year.
Note 1: These include the provision of primary and secondary school places of ESF schools, private international schools and private independent schools.
Note 2: The location of residence of the remaining students (around 25%) is unknown.
Ends/Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Issued at HKT 13:16
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