Guidelines on Kindergarten Admission Arrangements for the 2022/23 School Year
Summary
The Government has implemented the kindergarten (KG) education scheme (hereafter referred to as
“Scheme”) starting from the 2017/18 school year. The KGs joining/intending to join the Scheme should read carefully the Education Bureau Circular Memorandum (EDBCM) No. 75/2021, and comply with the admission guidelines issued by the Education Bureau (EDB). The Guidelines on KG Admission Arrangements for the 2022/23 school year (hereafter referred to as “Guidelines”) aim to further explain the details to KGs, KG-cum-child care centres and schools with KG classes (hereafter collectively referred to as “KGs”). Heads of KGs should ensure that the guidelines are circulated to all teachers and staff concerned for action.
Details Background
1. Under the Scheme, to maintain the flexibility and diversity of the KG sector and free choice for parents, KG student admission will remain a school-based matter. As for admission arrangements for K1 classes in KGs in the 2022/23 school year, the EDB will continue to implement the admission arrangements for K1 classes in KGs (hereafter referred to as “2022/23 K1 Admission Arrangements”).
2. The EDB encourages local KGs not joining the Scheme to participate in the 2022/23 K1 Admission Arrangements so that more KGs and parents could benefit from the admission arrangements. In this regard, the EDB will separately invite the KGs concerned. The list of KGs not joining the Scheme but participating in 2022/23 K1 Admission Arrangements will be uploaded onto the EDB’s website by mid-July 2021 for parents’ reference.
3. The EDB takes this opportunity to remind KGs that they must ensure equal opportunities in admission for all children regardless of their race, gender and ability. Their school-based admission mechanism must be fair, just and open, and in compliance with the anti-discrimination ordinances (including the Sex Discrimination Ordinance, Disability Discrimination Ordinance, Family Status Discrimination Ordinance and Race Discrimination Ordinance). In this connection, KGs must be careful about the details of admission arrangements on whether they may involve direct or indirect discrimination. When answering enquiries from parents, teachers and staff should offer assistance as appropriate and avoid misunderstanding.
Distribution of Application Forms for Admission
4. All KGs joining the 2022/23 K1 Admission Arrangements must inform parents in advance the arrangements for obtaining and submitting admission applications, including the dates for distribution and submission of application forms, application procedures, fee (if applicable), etc. through effective
channels (e.g. guidance notes in application forms, admission guidelines/leaflets, school website, etc.).
KGs are also required to upload the links to the webpage indicating the KG’s school information in the “Profile of KGs and KG-cum-Child Care Centres” and the EDB’s website on K1 Admission Arrangements KGs (https://www.edb.gov.hk/k1-admission_e) onto the school website.
Relevant information announced by KGs and the application forms must be in both Chinese and English. Please refer to Appendix 1 for the basic information required. KGs should upload the application form and other relevant information onto the school website to facilitate browsing and downloading by parents.
5. Irrespective of the means of distributing application forms, KGs should not limit the number of forms to be distributed or indicate on the application forms any wording such as “first-come-first-served”
and/or “application will not be accepted once quota is exhausted” to avoid parents queuing up for a long time for application forms. Similarly, when parents submit application forms, KGs should not set a quota or indicate any wording such as “first-come-first-served” and/or “application will not be accepted once quota is exhausted”.
6. Under the premise of not setting a limit to the number of application forms to be distributed, KGs can set a period of time for parents to obtain and submit application forms. The period set should be reasonable (including ample time and Saturday(s)) so as to allow sufficient time for parents to follow up. If necessary, KGs can process applications flexibly (e.g. extending the period of distributing and collecting application forms). KGs must confirm the receipt of applications in a school-based manner.
School-based Admission Mechanism
7. KGs are required to put in place a school-based admission mechanism, which should include the mode of application and interview, the admission procedure and criteria, the number of child-applicants to be interviewed, etc. KGs should continue to admit children with different backgrounds and needs if there are vacancies.
8. The school-based admission mechanism must be fair, just and open and KGs must ensure that the admission requirements are in compliance with the existing Hong Kong legislation and legislation on equal opportunities (including Sex Discrimination Ordinance, Disability Discrimination Ordinance, Family Status Discrimination Ordinance and Race Discrimination Ordinance). KGs must also comply with Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance and Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, etc. when handling matters related to student admission.
9. KGs can formulate their school-based admission criteria by taking into consideration different perspectives, such as education professionalism, home-school cooperation, child interests and child care. For WD/LWD services, KGs are provided with additional resources by the Government. To unleash the potential of the local labour force under the population policy, when considering applications for WD/LWD services, KGs should give due priority to families that require the services
(such as those with working parents) and those having genuine need for WD/LWD services due to their special circumstances such as families which need to take care of persons with disability at home.
Such relevant information should be included in the admission criteria announced by the KGs.
10. With regard to age of admission to K1 classes, ideally, children should attain the age of three before they are sent for school education as children of that age are physically and intellectually ready for KG education. In view of the general request for dovetailing the admission age for KGs and primary schools, the admission age for KGs as at September was relaxed to 2 years 8 months starting from the 2001/02 school year. Under this principle, KGs can admit children of that age according to their own school-based admission mechanism. Please refer to the EDBC No. 43/2000 for details.
Interview Arrangements
11. KGs should not start the recruitment procedure for K1 applicants (e.g. interviewing the child- applicants) for the next school year earlier than November each year.
12. If interviews are required as a part of the admission procedures, KGs have to respect the pattern of children’s development and KGs should not require children to answer questions involving skills or knowledge, or do tasks that are intellectually, physically and emotionally beyond their age. Should KGs choose not to interview all child-applicants, they must specify the selection criteria for interview in advance.
13. All staff involved in the selection of child-applicants are required to declare conflict of interests (e.g.
has kinship with an applicant). All documents must be recorded properly. Schools should consider assigning another staff for interview if a staff has declared a conflict of interest.
14. Admission criteria, particulars of the applicants (e.g. their application forms and identity documents, etc.), interview records (e.g. assessment and selection results, etc.), etc. should be properly kept for records. KGs should also provide timely response to parents’ enquiries about admission arrangements and handle related complaints.
“Not More Than One Place for Each Child” Measure
15. Under the Scheme, parents are required to use a valid registration document for K1 registration in the 2022/23 school year. The EDB will issue a registration document to each child who can receive education in Hong Kong. Children eligible for receiving subsidy under the Scheme will be issued a
“Registration Certificate for KG Admission” (hereafter referred to as “RC”). If a child is not eligible for receiving subsidy under the Scheme1, a “Kindergarten Admission Pass” (hereafter referred to as
“AP”) will be issued for registration to a Scheme-KG but the parents concerned are required to pay
1 Upon obtaining permission from the Director of Immigration, non-local children (such as children holding a form of recognizance and children whose parent(s) is/are holding a student visa) can receive education in Hong Kong but they are not eligible for subsidy under the Scheme.
full school fees (i.e. before deduction of subsidy under the Scheme) as shown on the Fees Certificate of the KG admitting the child.
16. KGs are advised to remind parents through their school website and other effective channels (e.g.
guidance notes in application forms, admission guidelines/leaflets, etc.) of timely applications for the RC from September to November 2021 and provide parents links for their access to relevant EDB websites.
17. Under special circumstances, if a child cannot present one of the above-mentioned valid formal registration documents (For example, a child has been issued an RC and admitted to a K1 class in a Scheme-KG in the 2021/22 school year, the RC would be kept by the attending KG. If there are special circumstances that parents wish to arrange for the child to repeat K1 class in the 2022/23 school year in the same KG, they will not be able to submit RC for completing the registration procedure for repeating K1 class during the Centralised Registration Dates.) , parents of the child concerned have to apply for a Provisional Registration Letter for provisional K1 registration for the 2022/23 school year.
If Provisional Registration Letter is used in the registration, parents have to submit a valid formal registration document (i.e. RC or AP) to that KG on or before the first day of formally attending the KG. Details on application for the Provisional Registration Letter will be announced in late October 2021.
18. KGs should not require parents to complete the registration procedure, or pay the registration fee or other fees (e.g. for purchasing school uniforms, tea and snacks, etc.) in any forms before the Centralised Registration Dates.
19. KGs should ensure that there are enough school places before issuing the offer letters to the child- applicants. Any offer of school places should not be based on “first-come-first-served” or “with set quota” to avoid parents queuing up or having any misunderstanding.
20. After the Centralised Registration Dates, KGs may fill the vacancies by admitting children on the waiting list or those who have not yet secured a place. If KGs admit children after the Centralised Registration Dates, they should inform parents of the date set by the KGs for completing the registration procedure. These parents are still required to complete the registration by submitting a valid registration document to the KG. After registration, if parents would like to enrol their children in another Scheme-KG but do not intend to give up the registered KG place, they will be unable to submit the registration document to another KG. Even if they are willing to pay full school fees, the KG concerned cannot admit their children. To fully implement this measure, principles of the above arrangement are also applicable to K2 and K3. In short, premised on the principle that each child should only attend one KG, and for enabling children to have equal opportunities for receiving subsidized KG education as well as making good use of Government resources, regardless of the level, all Scheme-KGs can only admit children with a valid registration document.
21. Should parents intend to change to another KG after registration, they must get back the registration document from the KG that they have registered with. The KGs should return the registration document to the parents as soon as possible. Once the parents get back the registration document, the KG will no longer keep the school place for that child. Normally, registration fee paid will not be refunded.
22. In general, the validity period of RC is 3 years. If parents arrange for their children to repeat their study in certain level and hence receive KG education for more than 3 years due to personal consideration (e.g. individual conditions of the children, family factors, changing schools, etc.), the parents have to pay full school fee before deduction of subsidy under the Scheme. Under special circumstances, parents may apply for extension of the validity period of the RC. Application for extension of the validity period of RC will only be considered by the EDB on a case-by-case basis for students with special needs. The applicant must provide relevant proof, for example, an assessment report issued by the relevant registered medical practitioner or professional (e.g. paediatrician, psychiatrist, educational psychologist, clinical psychologist, etc.), confirming special needs of the child for pursuing KG education for a period longer than the normal three years. In this connection, KGs should inform the parents of the above-mentioned points to note in writing when the parents show intention in arranging for their children to repeat certain level and receive KG education for more than 3 years. (Template of the notice is at Appendix 2.)
Admission Support for Non-Chinese Speaking (NCS) Children
23. KGs should upload the application form and other relevant information onto the school website to facilitate browsing and downloading by parents. Relevant information announced by KGs and the application forms must be in both Chinese and English. To facilitate parents of NCS children in obtaining relevant information, KGs should create an icon or provide a link to the English version of the website on the home page of the school website prominently, to let parents of NCS children obtain the English version of the information instantly when browsing the home page of the school website.
At the same time, KGs should also provide the links to the English version of the EDB’s website on K1 Admission Arrangements in KGs (https://www.edb.gov.hk/k1-admission_e) and the webpage indicating the KG’s school information in the “Profile of KGs and KG-cum-Child Care Centres” on the school website prominently (e.g. home page of the school website/the webpage providing the admission information in English) to facilitate parents in browsing relevant information. KGs should provide the information on their support to NCS children, enquiry telephone number and email address for parents of NCS children on the school website.
24. Equal opportunities for admission to KGs must be provided by KGs for all children (regardless of their race, gender and ability), including handling the applications from NCS children properly with due regard to the difference in their culture and customs from local practices. If there are vacancies, KGs should continue to admit children with different backgrounds and needs. To facilitate parents of NCS children in enquiring about school-based admission mechanism, KGs should provide the designated enquiry telephone number and email address for parents of NCS children. At the same
time, KGs should ensure that all staff involved in the admission procedures have a clear understanding of the measures catering for NCS children and their parents, and implement such measures properly, e.g. providing parents of NCS children with the English version of application form and admission guidelines. In this regard, the Equal Opportunities Commission has published an “Easy Guide on Promoting Racial Equality in Schools Kindergarten Admission (Applicable to Kindergartens with Local Curriculum)”. For details, please refer to:
https://www.eoc.org.hk/EOC/GraphicsFolder/inforcenter/rise/leaflet_output_for_web_2pages.pdf
25. When interviewing NCS children, KGs should arrange interpretation and/or translation service for applicants where necessary, e.g. making good use of the interpretation and/or translation service provided by the Centre for Harmony and Enhancement of Ethnic Minority Residents (CHEER) funded by the Home Affairs Department. KGs may also allow parents and children to be accompanied by a Chinese speaking relative/friend during the interview to facilitate communication. KGs should state explicitly the above-mentioned interview arrangements on the school website to inform parents of NCS children that relevant assistance could be offered. Besides, KGs should put in place effective means of communication and provide assistance to NCS children and their parents as far as practicable.
(Please refer to the item 2 of Appendix 1 on “Guidelines on Kindergarten Admission Arrangements for the 2022/23 School Year” for the points to note for updating/creating school websites.)
Application Fee and Registration Fee
26. According to regulation 61(1) of the Education Regulations, KGs must first obtain the written approval of the Permanent Secretary for Education before collections of or adjustments to application fee and registration fee are made. Under the KG education policy, the approved ceilings of application fee and registration fee for KGs joining / intending to join the Scheme are as follows:
(i) Application fee ($40) (ii) Registration fee
- $970 for HD session - $1,570 for WD session
27. Schools are not allowed to collect fees exceeding the approved ceilings.
Information on Vacancies
28. The EDB will collect information from KGs on K1 vacancies about a week after the Centralised Registration Dates through an electronic platform, and publish a list of KGs in various districtsinlate January 2022 showing the KGs that still have K1 vacancies, KGs with novacancy and KGs which are processing applications of children on the waiting list and welcome enquiries on their vacancy situation so as to help parents find a K1 place for their children.
29. Under the KG education policy, while student admission in principle continues to be school-based, Scheme-KGs should comply with the requirements as stipulated in paragraphs 4 to 6 of the EDBCM
No. 75/2021. Under special circumstances, if Scheme-KGs still have vacancies and individual children (including those at risk of developmental delay and NCS children) encounter difficulties in applying for admission, Regional Education Offices or Joint Office for Kindergartens and Child Care Centres will make referrals as appropriate.
Education Bureau June 2021
Appendix 1
List of basic Information on School-based Admission Arrangements (Relevant information must be provided in both Chinese and English)
1. KGs are required to upload the information below onto school website and via different channels to inform parents in advance on or before 16 September 2021 (Thursday).
(i) Information on Admission Application - Ways to distribute application forms
- Date and period for distribution of application forms - Application procedure
- Application fee (if applicable) - Ways to submit application forms
- Date and time for submission of application forms
(ii) School-based Admission Mechanism
- Number of child-applicants to be interviewed - Interview format and arrangements
- Admission criteria
(iii) Registration Procedure
- Arrangements on announcement of admission results - Centralised Registration Dates
- Arrangements on submission of a valid registration document and registration fee (including the amount)
- Arrangements on registration for children on waiting list - Arrangements for children changing school after registration
(iv) The link to the webpage indicating the KG’s school information in the “Profile of KGs and KG-cum-Child Care Centres”
(v) The link to EDB’s website on Admission Arrangements for Nursery (K1) Classes in Kindergartens
(https://www.edb.gov.hk/k1-admission_e)
2. Points to Note for Updating/Creating KGs’ School Websites:
A. Requirements of School Websites
(i) All Scheme-KGs should provide the following information in both Chinese and English on their school websites (please refer to EDBCM no. 126/2020 on “Kindergarten Education Scheme- Website Enhancement Grant” for the Tier-1 requirement):
- Introduction of the school
- School-based admission arrangements for nursery (K1) classes in KGs - School’s support to NCS children
- School fee information
- “Profile of KGs and KG-cum-Child Care Centres” – provide a link to the webpage indicating the KG’s school information
- Provide a link to the EDB’s webpage on Admission Arrangements for Nursery (K1) Classes in KGs
- Enquiry telephone number and email address for parents of NCS children
(ii) Both English and Chinese versions of admission information on the school websites should be identical.
(iii) To facilitate parents of NCS children in obtaining relevant information on admission arrangements, KGs should create an icon or provide a link to the English version of the website on the home page of the school website prominently, to let parents obtain the English version of the information instantly when browsing the home page of the school website. The icon/link to English version of the website should not be displayed at an inconspicuous location or on webpages other than the home page (e.g. relevant English icon/link to the English version of the website can only be seen after clicking on other Chinese icons on the home page).
(iv) KGs should provide the links to the English version of the webpage indicating the KG’s school information in the “Profile of KGs and KG-cum-Child Care Centres” and the EDB’s website on K1 Admission Arrangements in KGs (https://www.edb.gov.hk/k1-admission_e) on the school website prominently (e.g. home page of the school website/the webpage providing the admission information in English) to facilitate parents of NCS children browsing relevant information.
(v) KGs should state explicitly on the school website that they could arrange interpretation and/or translation service for applicants as necessary, or allow parents and children to be accompanied by a Chinese speaking relative/friend during the interview to facilitate communication.
B. Examples of Website Design
(i) Home page (in Chinese)
ABC 幼稚園- 主頁
Photo/Picture
主頁 學校簡介 最新消息 收生資料 Admission 聯絡我們 XXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XX XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXX XXX XXX XXXXX XXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXX
XXX XXX XXXXX XXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXX XXX XXXX XXXXX XX XXXX XXXX XXX XX
Photo Photo Photo
XXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXX XXXX XX XX XXXXXXXX
XXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX XXX X An English message is provided in the Chinese version of the main menu of the home page or an icon is created on the home page prominently so as to facilitate parents of NCS children in obtaining the admission information in English.
ABC 幼稚園- 主頁
Photos/Pictures
主頁 學校簡介 最新消息 收生資料 聯絡我們 XXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XX XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXX XXX XXX XXXXX XXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXX
XXX XXX XXXXX XXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXX XXX XXXX XXXXX XX XXXX XXXX XXX XX
XXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXX XXXX XX XX XXXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX XXX X
Admission Information Icon/Photo
Icon/Photo
(ii) Webpage providing information on admission arrangements
Please list the following information on the school website prominently. The content of both Chinese and English versions of information should be consistent.
ABC 幼稚園- 收生資料
Photo/Picture
主頁 學校簡介 最新消息 收生資料Admission 聯絡我們
A. 學校簡介
XXXXXX XXX
XXXXX
B. 校本收生安排
XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXXX
XXX XXXX XXX
C. 學費資料
XXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX
XXXX XX XXXX
D. 非華語兒童入學申請的安排
在面見非華語兒童時，學校可按需要為申請人安排傳譯及/或翻譯服務，或家長
和兒童由懂中文的親友陪同會面，協助溝通。
為非華語兒童家長而設的學校查詢電話號碼及電郵地址
電話號碼: xxxx xxxx
電郵地址: [email protected]
E. 對非華語兒童的支援措施
XXXXXXXXX XXXXX
XXXX XXXXXX
F. 《幼稚園及幼稚園暨幼兒中心概覽》- 本校資料
(https://kgp2020.azurewebsites.net/edb/schoolinfo.php?lang=tc&schid=xxxxxxx)
G. 教育局幼稚園幼兒班(K1)收生安排的網頁連結
(https://www.edb.gov.hk/k1-admission_tc) English Admission Information
A. Information of the School
XXXXXX XXXXXX
XXXXX XXXX
B. School-based Admission Arrangements
XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXXXXX XXX
XXX XXXX XXX C. School Fee Information
X XXX XXXXX XXXXXX
XXXX XX XXXX XXX XXXXXXX
D. Arrangement for admission application of non-Chinese Speaking (NCS) Children
When interviewing NCS children, interpretation and/or translation service for applicants will be provided where necessary; or parents and children are allowed to be accompanied by a Chinese speaking relative/friend to facilitate communication.
Enquiry Telephone Number and Email Address for Parents of NCS Children
Tel No: xxxx xxxx
Email address: [email protected] E. Support to non-Chinese Speaking (NCS) Children
XXXX XXXXXX
XXXXXX XXXXXXX
F. Our school Information on Profile of Kindergartens and Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centres
(https://kgp2020.azurewebsites.net/edb/schoolinfo.php?lang=en&schid=xxxxxxx) G. EDB’s website on Admission Arrangements for Nursery (K1) Classes in Kindergartens
(https://www.edb.gov.hk/k1-admission_e)
Appendix 2
XXX Kindergarten
Arrangements for Repeat Study/
Extension of Kindergarten Education for More Than 3 Years
dd mm 20XX To: Parent/Guardian of (name of student)
We are informed that you intend to arrange for your child to repeat his/her study and extend the kindergarten (KG) education for more than 3 years. In this connection, please note the following items:
In general, the validity period of Registration Certificate for KG Admission (RC) is 3 years. If the parents arrange for their children to repeat their study in certain level due to personal consideration (e.g. individual conditions of the children, family factors, changing schools, etc.) and the KG education required is more than 3 years, the parents have to pay the full school fee before deduction of subsidy under the KG education scheme.
Under special circumstances, parents may apply for the extension of the validity period of the RC. Application for extension of validity period of RC will only be considered by the Education Bureau (EDB) on a case-by-case basis for students with special needs. The applicant must provide relevant proof, for example, an assessment report issued by the relevant registered medical practitioner or professional (e.g. paediatrician, psychiatrist, educational psychologist, clinical psychologist, etc.), confirming special needs of the child for pursuing KG education for a period longer than the normal three years.
As it takes time to wait for Government assessment services, if necessary, parents should arrange for their children to receive assessment as soon as possible. Parents may seek assessment service through the referrals from Maternal and Child Health Centre or public hospitals to Child Assessment Centre under Department of Health/Hospital Authority, or arrange for their children to receive assessment by the relevant registered medical practitioner or professional (e.g.
paediatrician, psychiatrist, educational psychologist, clinical psychologist, etc.).
For enquiries about the applications for the extension of the validity period of the RC, please call the EDB at 3540 6808 / 3540 6811. Parents of non-Chinese speaking children may call the EDB Hotline at 2892 6676. (Working hours: Mondays to Fridays 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., closed on Saturdays, Sundays and Public holidays).
XXX Kindergarten
