Sheung Shui public school only three minutes by foot from one disgruntled mum
SHIRLEY.ZHAO@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Monday, 23 November, 2015, 1:28pm
UPDATED : Monday, 23 November, 2015, 1:28pm
Wai Chow Public School admitted 75 pupils via discretionary allocation. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
Some local parents living in Sheung Shui have complained about cross-border pupils’ siblings automatically getting discretionary Primary One places at a popular school, claiming the seats could have been allocated to their children.
They expressed their disappointment as they went to Wai Chow Public School to see the discretionary place allocation results released today.
Government-funded schools set aside about half of their total Primary One places for discretionary allocation, where children whose siblings are studying or parents are working at schools they apply for automatically get a discretionary place.
Those who don’t automatically gain admission must compete for discretionary places based on a point system, with points awarded for factors like an applicant’s religious backgrounds and his or her family’s affiliation with a school.
Lin Dongqin, whose home is only a three-minute-walk away from Wai Chow, failed to secure a place for her five-year-old son. She said she was disappointed that some of the discretionary places were taken by children living across the border.
Lin said she would apply for the same school during the central allocation exercise for children who failed to get a discretionary place.
Wai Chow principal Wong Wing-keung said the school admitted 75 pupils via discretionary allocation. He said 48 pupils were automatically admitted because their siblings were studying or parents were working at the school. Of the 48, 20 were cross-border children.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1882006/family-ties-bind-hong-kong-parents-upset-local
