'Talent scheme kids will be a boost for local schools'
Children moving to Hong Kong with parents admitted under the government's talent schemes can provide a boost to the local school system, an education group said on Friday. Mervyn Cheung, from the Education Policy Concern Organisation, also told RTHK that incoming children would not cause fierce competition for places at public sector schools, given there is a shortage of pupils. "In the senior secondary school level, for instance, this year we have around 50,000 students taking part in the Diploma of Secondary Education Examination. Over the next few years, it will go down to almost 42,000, so there is a big gap," Cheung said.  "I think this is quite a novel surprise, which can only be satisfied with more and more incoming students. This will also help stabilise the operation of local schools since many of them are quite worried about their intake over the next few years." But Dion Chen, the chairman of the Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council, said he isn't sure whether children moving to the territory will help schools find enough pupils to keep running their classes. "These students may not come as per the school's admission cycle. The school year starts from September 1 and these students come in because of their parents having a special visa to come into Hong Kong. They may not come right before September or some come even after September. I believe if they come in the middle of the school year, it doesn't really help to solve the current situation of shortage of students," he said.