Frequently Asked Questions on Placement Assistance

i)    Parents should approach the nearby Regional Education Office to seek placement assistance.Our staff will assist their children as far as possible in getting a new school place to continue their studies.

ii)    Parents may approach the school directly to apply for a place for their children. For information of individual schools, please visit "School Profiles" at the website of Committee on Home-School Co-operation.

i)    When choosing a new school for their children, parents should first consider carefully the interests and academic abilities of their children, and choose a suitable school in accordance with their aptitudes and needs. If they are not interested in the curriculum of traditional grammar schools, parents may consider the schools with relatively more diversified curriculum and contact them directly to apply for a school place.

ii)    For information of individual schools, please visit " School Profiles" at the website of Committee on Home-School Co-operation.

iii)   Parents should approach the nearby Regional Education Office to seek placement assistance.Our staff will assist their children as far as possible in getting a new school place to continue their studies.

Generally speaking, school places in primary 1/secondary 1 are allocated by EDB via the Central Allocation system. If newly arrived children want to study in primary 1 or secondary 1 at the beginning of a school year (school term normally starts at early September), parents should apply for central allocation with the School Places Allocation Section, EDB bringing the entry identity documents of their children before the new school term starts. For children arriving in Hong Kong after the commencement of the school term (i.e. after 1 September), parents should bring along their children and their children identity documents, proof of attained academic qualifications and proof of residential address (both originals and photocopies) to register with the Regional Education Offices. Our staff at the Regional Education Offices will assist them in obtaining a school place.

Newly arrived children can get placement assistance by the following ways:

i)    Application by using business reply: If the children have arrived in Hong Kong but for certain reasons not yet attended schools, their parents may send the completed business reply to us. The staff of the Placement Support Section will contact the parents within three days upon receipt of the business reply provide placement assistance for their children. If the parents consider that their children can attend school at once, our staff at the Regional Education Offices will make placement arrangement as soon as possible. The business replies are available at the 20 Public Enquiry Service Centres of the Home Affairs Department.

ii)   Application to the school direct: Parents may approach the school directly to apply for a place for their children. For information of individual schools, please visit "School Profiles" at the website of Committee on Home-School Co-operation.

iii)    Application through Regional Education Offices: Parents may contact the nearby Regional Education Office directly and seek placement assistance.

Last, children aged 6-15 who are eligible to attend public sector schools could all be provided with a school place by EDB.

Newly arrived children from foreign countries can get a school place in Hong Kong by the following ways:

i)   Direct application with school: Parents may contact the school directly to apply for a place for their children.

• For information of individual schools, please visit "School Profiles" at the website of Committee on Home-School Co-operation.
• In addition, parents may obtain the booklet "Your Guide to Services in Hong Kong" at the airport upon arrival or from District Offices or Sub-offices. Chapter 16 of the booklet gives a brief introduction to the education service in Hong Kong , with the enquiry telephone numbers and addresses of the Regional Education Offices, Placement and Support Section as well as other related departments. This booklet is written in English and languages of seven ethnic minority groups for the easy reference of parents.

ii)   Application through Regional Education Offices: Parents may contact the nearby Regional Education Office directly and seek placement assistance.

Last, children aged 6-15 who are eligible to attend public sector schools could all be provided with a school place by EDB.

i)    Parents may contact the kindergarten directly to apply for a place for their children.

ii)   Parents may telephone or visit the nearby Regional Education Office to obtain the information of kindergartens. Parents may also visit "Kindergarten Profiles" at the website of Committee on Home-School Co-operation.

i)    When choosing a new school for their children, parents should first consider carefully the interests and learning abilities of their children, and choose a suitable school in accordance with their aptitudes and needs.If they are not interested in the curriculum of traditional grammar schools, parents may consider the schools with relatively more diversified curriculum and contact those schools directly to apply for a place for them.

ii)    For information of individual schools, please visit "School Profiles" at the website of Committee on Home-School Co-operation.

iii)   Parents should approach the nearby Regional Education Office to seek placement assistance.  Our staff will assist their children as far as possible in getting a new school place to continue their studies.

For student dropouts aged over 15, EDB will try to place them back to the schools last attended or other schools, depending on such circumstances as parental choices, suitability and availability of school places. With parents' consent, our Bureau may refer these students to short term programmes/ social development programmes run by NGOs to prepare them for resumption of normal schooling.   For information regarding returning to schools, please contact Non-attendance Cases Team at 3698 4382. Furthermore, the Bureau also encourages students and young people to consider their further studies or return to school based on their own abilities and interests.

To encourage life-long learning, EDB updates the information on "Diversified Education Opportunities" regularly for the reference of the public.

Only those who are holding valid entry identity documents are allowed to attend schools in Hong Kong . For details, please refer to paragraph 5 of the EDB Circular No. 13/2018. Under normal circumstances, non-local children with "student" visas can only enter private schools. Besides, unless clearance is obtained from the Director of Immigration, no child whose travel document/passport bears the endorsement "Visitor" over the immigration stamp or issued with a landing slip imposed with condition of stay "Visitor" upon arrival should be admitted to any school in Hong Kong.

Generally speaking, school places in primary 1/secondary 1 are allocated by EDB via the Central Allocation system. If newly arrived children want to study in primary 1 or secondary 1 at the beginning of a school year (school term normally starts at early September), parents should apply for central allocation with the School Places Allocation Section, EDB bringing the entry identity documents of their children before the new school term starts. For children arriving in Hong Kong after the commencement of the school term (i.e. after 1 September), parents should bring along their children and their children identity documents, proof of attained academic qualifications and proof of residential address (both originals and photocopies) to register with the Regional Education Offices. Our staff at the Regional Education Offices will assist them in obtaining a school place.

The education system and curriculum of different places are not completely the same. Therefore, as a normal practice, the schools will interview the applicants to assess their suitable class levels before making the placement arrangement.

Newly arrived children can get placement assistance by the following ways:

i)   Application by using business reply: If the children have arrived in Hong Kong but for certain reasons not yet attended schools, their parents may send the completed business reply to us. The staff of the Placement Support Section will contact the parents within three days upon receipt of the business reply and provide placement assistance for their children. If the parents consider that their children can attend school at once, our staff at the Regional Education Offices will make placement arrangement as soon as possible. The business replies are available at the airport, Lo Wu entry point, Regional Education Offices of the EDB and 20 Public Enquiry Service Centres of the Home Affairs Department.

ii)   Application to the school directly: Parents may approach the school directly to apply for a place for their children. For information of individual schools, please visit "School Profiles" at the website of Committee on Home-School Co-operation.

iii)   Application through Regional Education Offices: Parents may contact the nearby Regional Education Office directly and seek placement assistance.

Last, children aged 6-15 who are eligible to attend public sector schools could all be provided with a school place by EDB.

Newly arrived children from foreign countries can get a school place in Hong Kong by the following ways:

i)   Direct application with school: Parents may contact the school directly to apply for a place for their children.

• For information of individual schools, please visit "School Profiles" at the website of Committee on Home-School Co-operation.
• In addition, parents may obtain the booklet "Your Guide to Services in Hong Kong" at the airport upon arrival or from Home Affairs Enquiry Centres, Labour Department, relevant consulates and other community organisations.  Chapter 16 of the booklet gives a brief introduction to the education service in Hong Kong, with the enquiry telephone numbers and addresses of the Regional Education Offices, Placement and Support Section as well as other related departments.  This booklet available in seven languages, namely English, Bahasa Indonesia, Tagalog, Thai, Hindi, Nepali and Urdu.

ii)   Application through Regional Education Offices: Parents may contact the nearby Regional Education Office directly and seek placement assistance.

Last, children aged 6-15 who are eligible to attend public sector schools could all be provided with a school place by EDB.

You may wish to note that permission for non-locals to enter or reside in Hong Kong for any purpose is at the discretion of the Director of Immigration. Thus, non-local children may enter or reside in Hong Kong for the purpose of education, only with the approval of the Director of Immigration. For further information about immigration matters, please call 2824 6111 or send a mail to enquiry@immd.gov.hk. Upon clearance from the Director of Immigration about the conditions of stay and study in Hong Kong, the children are eligible to study in Hong Kong. As the education systems and curricula of other countries are not the same as the local ones, schools will interview the applicants and assess the level suitable for the applicants before admitting them.

The New Academic Structure (NAS) has been implemented since September 2009. Under the NAS, all students will have the opportunity to study up to Secondary 6. Students with different abilities, interests and aptitudes can give full play to their talents through the broad and balanced senior secondary curriculum. Apart from taking the four core subjects (Chinese Language, English Language, Mathematics and Liberal Studies/Citizenship and Social Development¹), students can choose 2 to 3 elective subjects. These elective subjects can be chosen from NSS elective subjects of different Key Learning Areas, Applied Learning courses and/or other language courses. The curriculum breaks the barrier of traditional arts and science streaming. The subjects are diversified. They suit different students' interest, aptitudes and abilities. Through the participation in Other Learning Experiences, students can acquire learning experiences of moral and civic education, community services, physical and aesthetic education and career-related experiences, etc. The knowledge and learning experiences in NSS curriculum are broader and richer than previous curricula. Students' pathways for further education and employment are thus more diversified. The new curriculum can also foster a broader scope of views and life-long learning abilities for students. After completing six years secondary curriculum, students may attend the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination for admission to university. For details of the qualification of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education, please contact Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority.

Footnote:
¹ Citizenship and Social Development in lieu of Liberal Studies will be implemented in S4 starting from the 2021/22 school year. In the 2021/22 school year, Liberal Studies will be implemented at S5-S6 only whereas in the 2022/23 school year, Liberal Studies will be implemented at S6 only.

For enquiries concerning the education services for gifted students, please contact the Gifted Education Section at Tel: 3698 3472.

In Hong Kong, English language is taught as a major subject in both primary and secondary schools. Most government and aided primary schools adopt mother tongue as the medium of instruction (MOI) in the teaching of subjects other than the subject of English Language. Whereas in secondary schools, under the fine-tuned MOI arrangements implemented from Secondary 1 since the 2010/11 school year, schools are allowed the flexibility to adopt school-based MOI arrangements with regard to their individual school circumstances. Secondary schools’ MOI arrangements have become diversified with appropriate teaching strategies devised to address student's learning needs. Some international schools and Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) schools adopt English as the medium of instruction for most subjects.

Most of the schools in Hong Kong adopt Chinese as the medium of instruction for most subjects. Therefore, admission of non-Chinese speaking children will be made on a case-by-case basis. All mainstream schools will admit non-Chinese speaking children. For enquiries, please contact the Regional Education Offices.

Many local primary and secondary schools have Putonghua lessons, and a small number of them even adopt Putonghua as the medium of instruction.

For placement to primary schools, our staff at the Regional Education Offices will make placement arrangement based on the district of residence of the applicants and vacancies of schools. For placement to secondary schools, certain flexibility can be exercised and "cross-district" arrangement will be considered. Our staff at the Regional Education Offices will make placement arrangement in accordance with the residential district of the applicants and the availability of school places as far as possible.

For enquiries concerning the education services for gifted students, please contact the Gifted Education Section at Tel: 3698 3472.

Parents and the public can access the information of the schools at our Regional Education Offices, The school information has also been uploaded to "School Profiles" at the website of Committee on Home-School Co-operation.

Families with financial difficulties can apply for fee remission. Eligible applicants must be Hong Kong residents who are studying in registered kindergartens and have not applied for the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA). They should also have reached the age of 2 years 8 months at this time when they are enrolled in the kindergarten. Otherwise, they can only make application until they reach the age of 3. Parents who wish to apply for fee remission for their children can obtain application forms and guidance notes from the kindergartens/child care centres in which their children are studying. Applicants should return their completed application forms together with relevant supporting documents to Student Financial Assistance Agency (SFAA) through the kindergartens/child care centres concerned. Children currently in receipt of CSSA of the SWD need not apply on their own for the Voucher Scheme. The SWD will attend to the applications and refer them to the SFAA for further action. For details, please call SFAA at Tel: 2802 2345.

Needy families can apply for textbook assistance, school fee remission and travel subsidy. Eligible applicants must be Hong Kong residents. The application forms are available at the Home Affairs Department. All applications are subject to means tests and require about two months for processing. For details, please call Student Financial Assistance Agency at Tel: 2802 2345.