First choice allocations lower in scramble for schools
Parents choosing a secondary school for their child may have been too optimistic about securing their top choice in this year's secondary school allocation, which was announced on Tuesday. That's according to Rizwan Ullah, who is a secondary school vice-principal and a Kowloon City district councillor.  Speaking on RTHK's Hong Kong Today programme, Ullah said an overestimation of emigration may have been a factor. "If you look at the number this year, one thing that could explain the drop is probably due to parents being a little bit aggressive with their strategy in finding a school for their children, believing the decline in student population will bring benefits to them," he said.  Ullah said with the children from the mainland talent scheme and with many parents competing for the same spot, this had led to a decrease in the percentage of children getting into their first choice of school. On Tuesday, the Education Bureau said 62 percent secured their first choice via central allocation, down from 66 percent last year, and the lowest since 2020. However 91 percent of the around 51,000 primary six pupils did get a place among their top three choices But with some children in tears about not getting into one of their top three choices of school, Ullah said there were no bad schools and that parents shouldn't put too much pressure on their kids. "The children are upset partly because we have created that expectation - if you don't get these three then the child will feel bad. It's just like running in a race, it's the first three. If you're the fourth, you don't get a medal," he said. "But actually, if you look, many students who go to these different schools, they do well in different aspects because we talk about whole-person development and we look at the healthy development of the child. Ullah said it was therefore important not to create too many expectations for children, as the child may have some hidden talent. He said it was just one part of the education process and there were other elements, going forward, like university. Ullah also said parents should pick a school, which they believe matches their child's ability, so their child will have a higher chance of getting in.