Parents who want to apply for a Primary One (P1) place in a government or aided school for their children in September next year under the Primary One Admission (POA) System can obtain the application form or download it from the Education Bureau (EDB) homepage from Wednesday (September 2) until September 25.

     A spokesman for the EDB said today (August 31), "All Hong Kong children born on or before December 31, 2015, are eligible to join the POA System for admission to P1 in September 2021 provided they have not attended any primary schools and have never been allocated a P1 place.

     "Parents of children who are attending kindergartens or kindergarten-cum-child care centres may obtain the application form, explanatory notes on how to complete the application form and a POA information leaflet from their kindergartens or kindergarten-cum-child care centres. For parents of children not attending kindergartens or kindergarten-cum-child care centres, the documents can be obtained from District Offices (Home Affairs Enquiry Centres) and the EDB's Regional Education Offices and School Places Allocation Section."

     In light of the latest developments of COVID-19, parents may also choose to download a web version from the POA webpage under the EDB homepage (path: EDB homepage (www.edb.gov.hk) > Education System and Policy > Primary and Secondary Education > School Places Allocation Systems > Primary One Admission System). Please note that each applicant participating in POA may use one application form per child to apply for one government or aided primary school only. If parents have obtained the three-ply printed version of the application form, they need not download the application form online.
     
     At the Discretionary Places Admission stage, the school chosen is not restricted to the school net in which the child resides. Parents wishing to apply for a POA discretionary place in a government or aided primary school should submit the completed application form together with all supporting documents directly to the school during school office hours between September 21 and 25. Parents who are unable to submit the application form in person may authorise in writing a representative to bring along the completed application form with originals and photocopies of supporting documents to the school on their behalf. Parents should note that, to avoid gatherings of people, schools may arrange for parents to put the original copy of the application form and the photocopies of the supporting documents in the drop-in box provided by the school to shorten parents' waiting time. In this situation, parents should note the corresponding arrangements on submitting original copies of the documents to schools for verification.

     Parents who are unable to apply in person or authorise a representative may arrange to submit the application form with photocopies of supporting documents to the school by post between September 21 and 25 (the postmark date should not be later than the prescribed deadline). The school will arrange for parents to submit the original copies of the supporting documents to the school for verification on or before November 2, 2020. After verifying the corresponding documents, the school will return the copy of the application form with the school chop to parents for records.
     
     "Only one application should be submitted for each child. If parents are found to have applied to more than one government or aided primary school, their application for a POA discretionary place will be rendered void," the spokesman said.

     If parents are applying only for the POA Central Allocation, they may return the completed application forms with originals and copies of the supporting documents during the period from September 21, 2020, to January 29, 2021, to the EDB's School Places Allocation Section at Office 2, 2/F, Manulife Financial Centre, 223 Wai Yip Street, Kwun Tong, Kowloon

     "When completing the POA application form, parents should fill in the actual residential address of their child. If a false address is given by parents to secure a P1 place for their child under the POA System, the application will be rendered void and the P1 place allocated will be withdrawn. The public are encouraged to report suspected cases of using a false address for POA applications to the School Places Allocation Section by calling its hotline at 2832 7700," the spokesman said.

     The information leaflet for POA 2021 (including the revised arrangements for applicant children who intend to commute daily to schools in Hong Kong to participate in the Central Allocation stage) is now available on the EDB homepage for parents’ reference. Other details of POA 2021 and the discretionary places quota of each school will be available from Wednesday on the EDB homepage and the EDB's 24-hour hotline at 2891 0088.

     Parents who wish to enrol their children in Direct Subsidy Scheme primary schools, private primary schools or primary schools of the English Schools Foundation should apply directly to these schools as they are not included in the POA System. Parents should note that children who have accepted the offer of P1 places in Direct Subsidy Scheme primary schools will not be allocated P1 places in government or aided primary schools through the POA System.

Ends/Monday, August 31, 2020
Issued at HKT 16:30

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