[Archive] Students who cross the border for schooling in Hong Kong every day

LEGCO QUESTION No. 18 (WRITTEN REPLY)

Date of Meeting: 7 March 2001

Asked by : Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung

Replied by : SEM

Question :

As there are children who cross the border every day for schooling in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:

of the current number of children who travel from Shenzhen to Hong Kong for schooling everyday, with a breakdown by the districts of the schools they attend, whether or not these are village schools, and the classes they are attending; and
whether it will provide financial assistance for sponsoring bodies in Hong Kong to establish schools in Shenzhen for children who have the right to schooling in Hong Kong but who reside in Shenzhen, so as to save them from travelling long distance and crossing the border everyday; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

Madam President,

The Education Department (ED) conducted in October 2000 a survey covering all schools in the North district on the number of cross-border students.^{(Note 1)} A table setting out the number of these children by levels, and the number of these children studying in rural schools ^{(Note 2)} is at Annex A.

The Education Department also conducted a smaller scale survey in Yuen Long in February 2001, covering all rural schools and some secondary schools. The survey found that around 300 cross-border primary students are studying in the rural schools. Details are at Annex B. No cross-border students are studying in the secondary schools covered by the survey.

We have no information regarding the situation in other districts. However, ED reckons that most cross-border students are studying in the North and Yuen Long districts.

Note 1	"Cross-border students" refers to Hong Kong residents residing in the Mainland but studying in Hong Kong.
Note 2	Government has not set any definition for "rural schools". Normally, "rural schools" refer to schools located in remote suburban areas and providing education to children living in neighbourhood villages.

At present, we do not provide any form of subsidies to Hong Kong school sponsors operating schools in Shenzhen. Whether subsidy should be provided is an issue which requires careful deliberation in the light of a whole range of financial, planning and other practical implementation considerations, as well as potential read-across implications to the provision of other social services.

The Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO) provides a legal framework to guard against discrimination of disabled students. The Equal Opportunities Commission recently published a draft code of practice on education for public consultation. The ED, the Board of Education and school councils are working closely with the Commission with a view to putting in place a code which would help to eliminate discrimination and promote equal opportunities in schools in a practical and pragmatic manner.

Through the issue of guidelines on textbooks and curriculum, the ED promulgates the message of equal opportunities among students. Through production of teaching resources, including teaching packages and education television programmes, the ED has strengthened teachers' awareness and competency in this area. In addition, seminars, workshops and sharing sessions are held to promote the general acceptance of disabled children in ordinary schools. The message is also disseminated to students in ordinary schools through both classroom teaching and extra-curricular activities.

The ED has not carried out any systematic assessment on the effectiveness of the various measures mentioned above. However, based on the feedback received during school visits and inspections, the Department reckons that the measures are on the whole successful in progressively promoting the general acceptance of disabled children in ordinary schools.

Annex A

Cross-border Students Studying in the North District

Level	Rural Schools^(Note)	Non-rural Schools	Total
Primary One	378	175	553
Primary Two	352	185	537
Primary Three	281	152	433
Primary Four	170	88	258
Primary Five	116	65	181
Primary Six	110	75	185
Sub-total :	1 407	740	2 147
Secondary One	N.A.	115	115
Secondary Two	N.A.	73	73
Secondary Three	N.A.	81	81
Secondary Four	N.A.	72	72
Secondary Five	N.A.	49	49
Secondary Six	N.A.	1	1
Secondary Seven	N.A.	3	3
Sub-total :	N.A.	394	394
Grand Total:			2 541

Note: Rural schools operate primary classes only.

Annex B

Cross-border Students Studying in
Rural Schools ^(Note) in the Yuen Long District

Level	Rural Schools
Primary One	100
Primary Two	72
Primary Three	59
Primary Four	36
Primary Five	14
Primary Six	13
Total:	294

Note : Rural schools operate primary classes only.