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Following is a question by the Hon Dennis Kwok and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, in the Legislative Council today (June 4):
Question:
With the increasingly close relationship between Hong Kong and the Mainland, more and more Hong Kong people work, study and live on the Mainland. Some Hong Kong people living in Shanghai have pointed out that since the curricula of primary and secondary schools on the Mainland do not articulate with those in Hong Kong, they can only arrange their children to study at local international schools, in order that their children can continue their studies at the international schools in Hong Kong when the whole family moves back to Hong Kong in future. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of Hong Kong people living in Shanghai at present and, among them, the respective numbers of students studying at kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools;
(2) given that since 2008, the Education Bureau and the Shenzhen Municipal Education Bureau have jointly implemented, in Shenzhen for the Hong Kong children there, the scheme under which schools/classes are set up to provide learning programmes mainly following the Hong Kong curriculum (the Scheme) and eligible primary six students who study at such schools/classes may join the "Hong Kong Secondary School Places Allocation System" for allocation of subsidized secondary one places of schools in Hong Kong, whether the Government has plans to extend, in collaboration with the mainland authorities, the Scheme to other mainland cities with a relatively high population of Hong Kong people; if it has such a plan, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) whether it has looked into the provision of financial incentives (such as tax concessions) to encourage Hong Kong private school sponsoring bodies to establish schools on the Mainland for Hong Kong children, so as to offer such Hong Kong children one more option for education; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
In response to the questions raised, our replies are set out below.
(1) According to the Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (Note) conducted by the Mainland in 2010, as at November 2010, there were approximately 19 300 Hong Kong residents living in Shanghai, amongst which approximately 3 800 were aged 0 to 15. But there were no figures on the number of students studying at kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools.
(2) In view of the close proximity between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, the Education Bureau and Shenzhen Municipal Education Bureau cooperate to implement education projects to cater for the needs of the development of the two places, one of which being the Scheme of Schools/ Classes for Hong Kong Children (the Scheme) implemented in Shenzhen in 2008. The Scheme does not involve any subventions from the Hong Kong Government. From 2010 to 2013, a total of around 160 students were allocated secondary one school places in Hong Kong. At present, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has no plan to extend the Scheme to other mainland cities. We are willing to collaborate with the governments of other mainland cities to explore implementation of project similar to the Scheme in their regions if they wish.
(3) All along, government subsidies provided to schools are restricted to those within Hong Kong. To the best of our knowledge, several Hong Kong school operators have already established schools under the framework of the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Promotion of Privately-Run Schools" to provide services to students including Hong Kong children. The Education Bureau provides support to the schools joining the Scheme, including conducting briefings to the school teachers on the Hong Kong curriculum and the latest curriculum resource packages produced by the Bureau.
Note: The Sixth National Population Census in 2010 covered all Hong Kong residents staying on the Mainland for at least three months before the census reference moment or those being confirmed to have stayed on the Mainland for at least three months after the census reference moment. Hong Kong residents staying temporarily on the Mainland and for commercial or travel purposes were not included.
Ends/Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Issued at HKT 14:38
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