XN000022-1995-06-28 — Page 60

(d)

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40

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whether consideration will be given to allowing these expatriate schoolchildren, especially those at primary school age, the choice to study at schools near their homes in the same way as the local schoolchildren, so that they can be completely integrated into the territory's school environment?

Reply:

Mr President,

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Our policy on free and compulsory education applies to all eligible children within the appropriate school age, irrespective of their country of origin.

We do not have information on the distribution in our schools by nationality and age of children who come from economically developing countries. We believe the number of these children who are eligible for public education service to be very small.

Three Government schools offer public school places for non-Chinese students with limited command in English and Chinese. The vast majority of these children are of Indian or Pakistani origin. Their current enrolment in these three schools is 1,200. No separate record is kept on those admitted to aided and private schools. We are, therefore, not aware that any such children have been refused enrolment. We offer school placement service to all eligible children who approach us for assistance.

There is no disparity of treatment between the expatriate children in question and their local counterparts. However, because of their limited command in English and Chinese, some of them can only be allocated to the three schools mentioned in (c) above. When their language abilities have improved sufficiently to enable them to benefit from the curriculum in ordinary local schools, the Education Department will allocate them in the same way as their local counterparts in accordance with the established policy i.e. primary pupils will be allocated to schools in their own district and secondary pupils on a territory-wide basis.

End/Wednesday, June 28, 1995

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