Fight continues to keep knocking on school doors

Sophie Hui

Most schools support keeping the "door-knocking" quotas for students who have to repeat classes in the same school, the chairman of Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools, Lin Chun-pong, said.

His comments came after Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin said that her bureau would consider reducing the door-knocking quotas by executive order to cope with a falling student population.

But many parents viewed the quotas as the last admission chance when their children failed to get into the first choice of schools in the allocation for places.

Lin said yesterday that schools in general support the bureau's idea of reducing the door-knocking system or to use the quotas exclusively for repeating students.

"Those places were originally for repeating students," Lin noted. "If those seats can be reserved just for repeating students the system will return to the purpose is was designed for originally.

"Also, when the student population drops in future students will have better chances to get into their favorite schools."

Lin said too that secondary schools in general support the idea of reallocation of schools to other districts due to the difference of student populations as this can help relieve pressure caused by a lack of enrolments.

Meanwhile, the alumni group of the Church of Christ in China Cheung Chau Church Kam Kong Primary School called on former students to send letters or emails to the Education Bureau to urge discretion in denying the school the ability to admit primary one pupils in the next academic year starting in September.

The decision was due to the school failing to recruit 16 pupils - the threshold for a school to operate a class.

Chan Cheuk-yin, chairman of the alumni group, circulated a letter on social media to encourage others to "voice out and help their alma mater weather the storm."

Chan wrote that "we believe there is room for discussion in every matter."

He went on: "We can also share memories and what we have gained from our alma mater so authorities can get to know the primary school [and] exercise discretion and to take back the decision temporarily."

The bureau has given several options to the school, including it requesting a special review.

On that, Chu Kwok-keung, who represents the sector in the Legislative Council, said it was difficult for schools to be considered competent in the assessment exercise.