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Hong Kong School Reform Sparks Address Frenzy
Proposed education reforms in Hong Kong have sent parents into a frenzy of house moving -- real and bogus -- in order to secure their children places at elite schools.
The practice has long been common in Hong Kong, but parents' anxiety to secure their children the best start has hit new peaks because the reforms include the proposal that more primary school places be determined by where children live.
Some parents are moving to areas where the best schools are located, while others are using different, and more underhand methods, such as renting an address in name only to fool authorities into thinking they live in the neighbourhood.
"About 40 to 50 percent more potential tenants every day register with us now than before," said Marco Lam, a property agent in the Kowloon Tong district, flush with first-rate schools.
"They tell us they want to move to this district because of the education reform," he said.
The moving mania began soon after publication of the proposed reforms in May.
Aimed at levelling the academic playing field, one proposal is to increase the number of places in primary schools that are allocated based on where children live to 85 percent from 65 percent.
Under the new scheme, most children will go to a secondary school affiliated with their primary school, so the first school a child goes to might dictate the course, and quality, of his or her entire education.
"The increase in the placement of pupils based on where they live has heightened concern," said Eunice Chan, mother of a six-year-old.
While the reforms are aimed at making education more egalitarian, they would appear to have had the opposite effect in that they have fuelled parents' determination to lock their children into the territory's best-ranked schools.
"Now your fate is determined at the kindergarten stage. You can't get out of it if you enter a bad school at the very beginning," Chan said.
Like many other Asian countries and districts, Hong Kong places great emphasis on educational qualifications. Parents put down names for the best kindergarten places as soon as children are born.
From a very early age, many children take extra classes to try to improve their chances of success.
Now, it seems, your address will also play a major role.
"Located Right In Elite School District," trumpets a typical advertisement for Kowloon Tong private housing.
Property agents say some tenants rent a flat for only six months, moving after their child has secured a school place. Some people seek a simple room, just for the address.
"We have moved to Kowloon Tong partly because we wanted our children to enter good schools," said Frankie Lam, a bank clerk.
"Some of my relatives have borrowed our address so that their children could apply," he said.
Newspapers have reported that some parents even rent addresses, with landlords collecting mail and messages for them.
"more people will borrow an address in the district of their preferred school," said Christine Chu, who said that is just what she did to get her daughter into a particular primary school.
A spokesman for education brushed off suggestions the new system would lead to more cheating in the pursuit of places in top-quality schools.
"There is always a quest for elite school places here and elsewhere," the spokesman said.
"The address used by parents will need to be substantiated by documental proof.
"We've had cases where some applicants allocated primary one places have been rendered void because of false addresses, and the places were withdrawn," he said.
The proposals are up for public discussion until the end of this month. Authorities have promised to take different opinions into consideration before finalising the reforms
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