Primary One Admission 2023

Primary One Admission 2023

(for parents of Non-Chinese Speaking Students)

What we will cover today?

1. Types of primary schools and how to get admitted through the Primary One

Admission System

2. Education support for non-Chinese

speaking (NCS) students

Different Types of Primary Schools in Hong Kong

1. Government Primary Schools 2. Aided Primary Schools

3. Direct Subsidy Scheme Primary Schools

4. Private Primary Schools

Government & Aided Primary Schools

 No school fee will be charged

 Their primary one places are allocated

under the POA System

Direct Subsidy Scheme Primary Schools, Private Primary Schools and International Schools

 School fees will be charged

 These schools do NOT join the POA System

 Parents need to apply to them direct (i.e. not

under the POA System)

How to get admitted

through the POA System?

To join POA 2023, the child must

 reach the age of 5 years 8 months when

he/she is enrolled in P1 in September 2023;

(i.e. born on or before 31 December 2017);

 be a Hong Kong resident;

 NOT be attending any primary school; and

 have NEVER been allocated a P1 place

Eligibility

POA School Net

 POA system is net based

 The whole territory is divided into

36 POA School Nets

Primary One Admission

2 stages :

 Discretionary Places (DP) Admission stage (take up about 50% of a school’s P1 places)

 Central Allocation (CA) stage

(take up about 50% of a school’s P1 places)

Discretionary Places (DP)

Admission Stage

Discretionary Places Admission Stage

 Parents can apply to ONE government or aided school in ANY DISTRICT (i.e. any POA school net)

 If more than one application to government or aided school is submitted, all your applications for discretionary place will be forfeited

 Refer to “Primary School Lists by School Net for

Discretionary Places Allocation Stage”

Discretionary Places

Type A

 Reserve about 30% of P1 places

 For admission of applicant children with siblings studying or parents working full- time in the school

 All applicant children of this category will

be admitted by the school

Type B

 Reserve about 20% of P1 places

 If the number of applications for

discretionary places in Type B received by a school exceeds its quota, the school

should admit the applicant children according to the Points System

Discretionary Places

The Points System

1. Parent(s) teaching or working full-time in the kindergarten or secondary section if it is of the same address as the primary school (20 points) 2. Sibling(s) studying in the secondary section if it is of the same address as the

primary school (20 points)

3. Parent(s) being a school manager of the primary school (20 points) 4. Parent(s) or sibling(s) being a graduate of the primary school (10 points) 5. First-born child (the eldest child in the family irrespective of sex) (5 points) (Applicant children may claim only one of the relationships from 1 to 5)

6. Same religious affiliation as the sponsoring body which operates the primary

school [See Note] (5 points)

7. Parent(s) being a member of the same organisation which sponsors the operation

of the primary school [See Note] (5 points)

(Applicant children may claim only one of the relationships from 6 to 7)

8. Applicant child of the right age (5 years 8 months to 7 years old) (10 points)

[Note: Parents are advised to consult the school direct about the definition of “same religious affiliation”/ “a member of the same organisation” before submitting the application form.]

Discretionary Places Admission Stage

 Submit application to the school direct from 26 to 30 September 2022

 Results will be released by schools on 21 November 2022

 Register with allocated school on 23 or 24

November 2022 (If parents cannot register

their child with the school within the specified

period and time, they would deemed to have

given up the school place allocated.)

When submitting application forms, parents should bring along:

1. Parent’s Identity Card

2. Applicant child’s Birth Certificate / Passport and its copy 3. Valid proof of residential address (e.g. stamped tenancy

agreement, water/ electricity/ town gas / residential telephone bills) and its copy

(Note: Parents who require Statutory Declaration service in connection with their P1 application can go to the School Places Allocation Section (POA).

Parents should note the latest arrangements of EDB public service and contact the School Places Allocation Section to make appointments in advance. To avoid unnecessary waiting, parents should take their oaths well in advance of the deadline for submission of the Application Form.)

 Parents should also bring along relevant documents to prove the relationship with

school if they wish to claim points under the Points System.

(e.g. If the applicant child’s sibling is a graduate of the school, then bring the Birth Certificate and

Primary 6 Graduate Certificate of the sibling)

Central Allocation (CA) Stage

Central Allocation Stage

 Applicant children who have not been offered a discretionary place will

participate in the Central Allocation

 A fresh application for the Central Allocation is NOT necessary.

 Each primary school earmarks about 50% of its P1 places for Central

Allocation

Choices of Schools

Part A – Unrestricted School Choices

 Can choose ANY school located in ANY school net

 About 10% of P1 places are earmarked for unrestricted school choices (i.e. Part A in Central Allocation)

 Parents may make up to 3 choices of

schools from any school nets (including

the home net)

Choices of Schools

Part B – Restricted School Choices

 About 90% of P1 places are earmarked for restricted school choices (i.e. Part B in Central Allocation)

 Parents should select schools available in the applicant children’s residing

school net to avoid travelling

unreasonably long distances to attend

schools

Choices of Schools

 When choosing a primary school for your children, parents should first identify

children’s characteristics, personalities,

abilities and interests, and then consider

various factors such as the sponsoring

body, history, location and religion of a

school.

Computer Processing of Central Allocation

 Based on parental choices and random numbers (to ensure fairness) of applicant children

 First process the unrestricted school choices (Part A)

 Then process the restricted school choices

(Part B)

 Parents will be informed in late Jan 2023 by EDB in writing to go to the Central Allocation centres to make choices of schools.

 Parents should go to the specified Central

Allocation centre to make their choices of schools on 4 or 5 February 2023.

 If parents have not received the letter by 30 January 2023, they should contact the School Places Allocation Section.

Central Allocation Stage

 Allocation processed centrally by computer

 Results of Central Allocation to be sent to parents by post on 7 to 8 June 2023

 Registration of Primary 1 pupils allocated with places through Central Allocation on 13 to 14 June 2023

Central Allocation Stage

 EDB will arrange to deliver the ‘Primary One

Registration Form’ with the result of Central Allocation by post to parents’ correspondence address provided in the POA application form from 7 to 8 June 2023

through the ‘Local CourierPost’ service provided by Hongkong Post. The letter will be delivered to door.

 If attempt of door delivery by Hongkong Post fails, a

‘Mail Collection Notification Card’ will be left for

parents to collect it from the designated post office starting from the afternoon of the following working day.

Central Allocation Stage

 If parents have not received the ‘Primary One

Registration Form’ or the ‘Mail Collection Notification Card’ issued by Hongkong Post by 9 June 2023, they could collect the ‘Primary One Registration Form’ at the designated ‘Collection Centre’ from 10 to 11 June 2023 (For the latest arrangements, please refer to EDB

Primary One Admission Website).

Central Allocation Stage

 Apart from issuing the ‘Primary One Registration Form’

by post, if parents wish to receive the results of the CA for POA 2023 of their applicant children via SMS

message on 7 June 2023, they may provide a mobile number which can receive SMS message on the Choice of Schools Form and indicate their consent to receive the results of the CA via this mobile phone number.

Central Allocation Stage

 A testing SMS message will be sent from the EDB to the mobile phone number

provided for receiving SMS in early May 2023.

Central Allocation Stage

 The EDB will assign timeslots for parents to register with the allocated school on 13 June or 14 June. Parents who cannot

proceed with the registration within the specific date can register on 15 June.

Central Allocation Stage

 If there is tropical cyclone or persistent

heavy rain during the above dates, please pay attention to radio, television or EDB website for special arrangements.

Central Allocation Stage

Sample of

Application Form

6 6

KHATRI MITEN

S245678(9) 01 10 2017

00

 

C 8 4

WAI YI GARDEN

123 CHUNG MEI ROAD

TSING YI 

LUI KEE PRIMARY SCHOOL

D234567(3) 01

Mother KHATRI RADHIKA

2468 2468

9345 6789

1999

4

Khatri Radhika

khatri@google.com

Education support for non- Chinese speaking (NCS)

students

The Government

 is committed to encouraging and

supporting the integration of NCS students into the community (i.e. early adaptation to the local education system and mastery of the Chinese language)

 ensures NCS children enjoy equal

opportunities for admission to public sector schools and learning of Chinese on par

with their Chinese-speaking counterparts

The Education Bureau (EDB)

 has substantially increased the additional funding for schools

 has provided schools with teaching resources, teacher training and

professional support to further enhance

the support for NCS students’ learning

of the Chinese language

 implementation of the “Chinese Language Curriculum Second Language Learning

Framework” in schools

 drawn up in consultation with teachers and language experts

 to help NCS students learn Chinese

 creation of an inclusive learning

environment in schools

 Parents of NCS applicant children are encouraged to choose schools with an

immersed Chinese language environment to help the applicant children learn the

Chinese language

 Most of the public sector schools including the list of schools in the applicant

children’s residing school nets have an

immersed Chinese language environment

 For school-based support measures for NCS students provided by individual

schools, please refer to the column on

“Education Support for NCS Students” in the Primary School Profiles published by the Committee on Home-School Co-

operation



Having due regard to the

aforementioned, in case parents

 consider that the applicant children may still have difficulties studying in a school with an immersed Chinese language environment at this stage, and

 indicate on the application form that the applicant

children cannot use Chinese as the learning medium

when filling in Part B of the Choice of Schools Forms for Central Allocation,

 parents can choose from the list of schools in the applicant children’s residing school nets and make reference to the list of

schools traditionally admitting more NCS

students (in Appendix 3 of the “Notes on

How to Complete the Application Form”)

Timetable for POA 2023

2 to 30 Sept 2022 • Distribution of POA application form

26 to 30 Sept 2022 • Application for discretionary place (Only 1 aided or government school)

21 Nov 2022 • Release of discretionary places admission results by schools 23 & 24 Nov 2022 • Registration of successful discretionary places applicant children

Late Jan 2023 • Parents of the applicant children who did not secure a discretionary place are invited by letter to make choices of schools for Central Allocation

4 & 5 Feb 2023 • Make choices of schools at specified central allocation centres*

7 & 8 June 2023 • Results of Central Allocation to be sent to parents by post

(If parents provide a mobile number which can receive SMS message on the Choice of Schools Form and indicate their consent to receive the results of the CA via this mobile phone number, the results of the CA for POA 2023 of their applicant children will be sent via SMS message on 7 June 2023.*)

13 to 15 June 2023 • Registration with schools

(The EDB will assign timeslots for parents to register with the allocated school on 13 June or 14 June. Parents who cannot proceed with the registration within the specific date can register on 15 June)

*Digitalisation of POA (Slides # 45 to 55 refer)

 In line with the “Smart Government”

strategy, the EDB will implement

digitalisation of primary one admission in phases starting from 2023.

Digitalisation of POA

 It is envisaged that parents/guardians can make school choices and receive results of the POA Central Allocation through the e-Platform at the Central Allocation Stage for POA 2023 at the earliest. Further

details will be announced in due course.

Digitalisation of POA

 To facilitate the understanding of schools and parents on the digitalisation of POA 2023, the EDB plans to organise briefing sessions for schools (including primary schools, kindergartens and child care

centres) and parents in late November to December 2022.

Digitalisation of POA

 For the digitalisation of POA, the EDB has added a new section “Email Address”

under the part “Parent/Guardian’s Particulars” of Application Form for Admission to Primary One (2023).

Digitalisation of POA

If parents /

guardians wish to activate the

Primary One Admission e- Platform account and submit the application in Central

Allocation Stage or receive results of the Central Allocation via the e-Platform,

please provide the email address.

Digitalisation of POA

 Upon formal launch of the e-Platform, the EDB will send email to the email address as provided by parents / guardians so that parents / guardians can activate the

Primary One Admission e-Platform account on their own.

Digitalisation of POA

 After providing the email address in the application form and the activation of the e-Platform account, parents / guardians can still make their choice of schools either in paper form or through the e- Platform.

Digitalisation of POA

 Parents who have activated their e-Platform

account can receive results of Central Allocation through the Primary One Admission e-Platform account and choose to use “iAM Smart” to login the e-Platform account. For parents who have registered “iAM Smart +” account, they can use

“digital signing” to fill in and submit their choice of schools application through the Primary One Admission e-Platform account and receive

results of Central Allocation.

Digitalisation of POA

 Parents can download and install “iAM Smart”

mobile app and complete the registration of “iAM Smart” account online using mobile phone. If

parents need to use digital signing, they can go to self-registration kiosk or registration service counters of various districts to register the “iAM Smart +” account.

Digitalisation of POA

What is "iAM Smart"?

 "iAM Smart" is a free account that can be

enjoyed by all Hong Kong Identity Card holders aged 11 or above. It allows users to perform

authentication through personal mobile phones and log in as well as use the online services of different government departments and

commercial organisations.

Digitalisation of POA

 For details and registration method of “iAM

Smart”, please visit the website of “iAM Smart”

below:

https://www.iamsmart.gov.hk/en/

Digitalisation of POA

Special Arrangements for POA 2023

In light of the latest development of COVID-19, special

arrangements for obtaining and submitting the application forms will be implemented for POA 2023.

Special Arrangements for POA 2023

Download the application form

• Parents may obtain a 3-ply application form from the

kindergartens or kindergarten-cum-child care centres the child is attending, District Offices (Home Affairs Enquiry Centres), School Places Allocation Section or EDB’s Regional Education Offices.

• In light of the latest development of COVID-19, parents may also choose to download a web version from the EDB’s POA Webpage [path: EDB homepage

(http://www.edb.gov.hk) > Education System and Policy >

Primary and Secondary Education > School Places Allocation Systems > Primary One Admission System].

Special Arrangements for POA 2023

Download the application form

• Please note that each applicant child participating in POA could use one application form to apply for one government or aided primary school.

• To avoid submitting duplicate applications and submitting applications to more than one

government or aided school by mistake, if parents have obtained the 3-ply printed version of the

application form, they need NOT download the application form online for use.

Special Arrangements for POA 2023

Download the application form

• Parents should read the “Notes on how to complete the

‘Application Form for admission to Primary One’” and “Notes on how to complete the downloadable application form” when filling in the downloadable application form.

• Since a set of 8-digit “POA application number” for POA use is not pre-printed on the downloadable version, when parents submit the downloadable application form to the government or aided primary school at DP stage between 26 and 30 September 2022, the school will put a “POA application number” label on the

application form after checking the documents submitted by parent.

Special Arrangements for POA 2023

Download the application form

• The school will then make two photocopies of the application form and stamp the school chops on each copy. A copy will be given to the parent for record, the original and another copy will be kept by EDB and school respectively.

• The 3-ply printed version of application form has pre-printed with a set of 8-digit POA application number and consists of “EDB’s copy”, “School’s copy” and “Parent’s copy”. The “Parent’s copy”

will be given to the parent for record after the school has

completed the procedure. The school needs not put the POA application number label and photocopy the application form.

Special Arrangements for POA 2023

Submit the application form

• If parents intend to apply a government or aided primary school for their child, they should submit the application form with the relevant originals and copies of documents as listed on the

“Notes on how to complete the ‘Application Form for admission to Primary One’” to the school in person between 26 and 30 September 2022.

• Parents should avoid gathering of people and wear masks when they go to the schools and follow the relevant measures of

schools on prevention and control of infection and maintain social distancing.

Special Arrangements for POA 2023

Submit the application form

• Parents who cannot submit the application form in person may authorise in writing a representative to bring along the completed application form with the originals and photocopies of supporting documents to the school on their behalf.

• Parents should visit the school’s website or contact the school direct for details on submitting application form in advance.

• Parents should note that, to avoid gathering of people, schools may arrange parents to put the original of the application form and the photocopies of the supporting documents in the drop- box provided by the school to shorten parents’ waiting time.

Under this circumstance, parents should note the corresponding arrangements for providing the original of the documents to

Special Arrangements for POA 2023

Submit the application form

• Parents who are unable to apply in person or authorise a representative may arrange to submit the application form with the photocopies of supporting documents by post

between 26 and 30 September 2022 (the postmark date should not be later than the prescribed deadline) and sign a declaration form (which will be available for download from the EDB homepage) to declare that the supporting

documents provided are true copies and will provide the original of the supporting documents to the school on or before 31 October 2022 for verification.

Special Arrangements for POA 2023

Submit the application form

• The school will arrange parents to provide the original of the supporting documents to the school for verification on or before 31 October 2022. Please visit the websites or contact the enquiry hotlines of the corresponding

organizations to find out the latest arrangement of the postal service and the time required before submitting

applications, so that the applications could reach the school by the deadline.

• After verifying the corresponding documents, the school will return the copy of the application form with the school chop

Special Arrangements for POA 2023

Submit the application form

• For parents who wish to apply for Central Allocation only, they should submit the application form with all originals and copies of the supporting documents to School Places Allocation Section (Primary One Admission), Education Bureau at Office 2, 2/F, Manulife Financial Centre, 223 Wai Yip Street, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, during the period from 26 September 2022 to 3

February 2023.

• Parents should wear masks when they complete the application procedure at the above address and follow the relevant

measures on prevention and control of infection and maintain social distancing.

Special Arrangements for POA 2023

Submit the application form

• As the Vaccine Pass arrangement has been

implemented from 24 February 2022, except for exempted persons, all school staff, persons

providing on-campus services and visitors have to present their vaccination record for the purpose of the Vaccine Pass and use the 'LeaveHomeSafe' mobile application to scan the venue QR code before they are allowed to enter schools.

Special Arrangements for POA 2023

Submit the application form

• Furthermore, the Government has enhanced

Vaccine Pass function with the addition of the Red Code and Amber Code into the Vaccine Pass.

Cases confirmed with COVID-19 have been

categorised as persons with a “Red Code”, and inbound persons from overseas places or Taiwan have been categorised as persons with an “Amber Code”. Their “Vaccine Pass” QR codes are

displayed in red or amber accordingly.

Special Arrangements for POA 2023

Submit the application form

• Schools should not allow persons with "Red Code"

(that is, confirmed cases) to enter the school premises in accordance with relevant

requirements. The arrangement applies to persons working or studying at school and visitors. If a

school notices that a person with a "Red Code" is attempting to enter the school premises, the

school should stop such person from entering.

Special Arrangements for POA 2023

Submit the application form

• Since the person concerned should not have left his/her quarantine location, the school should

report such case to the Police immediately.

Besides, anyone with an "Amber Code" is not

allowed to enter the school premises as a visitor.

For details, please visit the COVID-19 Thematic Website

(https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/vaccine- pass.html)

Latest news / school information

 Parents should pay attention to the latest press release and announcement on the EDB webpage

 The letter of authorization for submitting the application

form and the declaration form for POA can be downloaded on EDB webpage

 School information / list of schools

 Kindergarten / Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centre

 Primary School Profiles (www.chsc.hk/primary/en)

 Regional Education Offices of EDB

 Call 2891 0088 to obtain by fax

 Browse the EDB webpage (www.edb.gov.hk)

Translated POA Documents

 Key information in the leaflet and explanatory notes on POA have been translated into

languages of different races

 POA application form has also been

translated into languages of different races

(for reference only)

Other Support Measures (1):

 Video of this briefing session will be

uploaded onto the EDB webpage to

facilitate parents of NCS students to

understand the POA System in due

course.

Other Support Measures (2):

 Dedicated workshops for parents of NCS

students to facilitate their understanding of the procedures of choice-making of schools in

January 2023

 Interpretation of languages of different races will be provided

Other Support Measures (3):

 Three designated centres in Kowloon, Hong Kong and the New Territories are set up for parents of NCS students to

submit their Choice of Schools Forms in Central Allocation Stage

 Interpretation of languages of different

races will be provided

Enquiries on POA System

School Places Allocation Section

General Enquiries 2832 7700

HK Island & Islands 2832 7610

Kowloon 2832 7620

New Territories West 2832 7635 New Territories East 2832 7659 POA webpage:

[Path: EDB homepage (http://www.edb.gov.hk) >

Education System and Policy > Primary and

Secondary Education > School Places Allocation Systems > Primary One Admission System]

Other Support Measures (4):

False residential addresses

 Parents should choose the POA School Net in which the applicant child resides. Each year,

EDB identifies and investigates suspicious cases of false addresses provided by POA applicants.

 To safeguard a fair administration of the POA system, EDB appeal for the support of all

kindergartens to provide relevant information of the applicant child involving in false address

investigation, e.g. student handbook, without contravening the privacy of parents/ applicant child, when necessary.

Telephone Interpretation Service

8 hotlines by which telephone conferencing service is provided by the Centre for Harmony and

Enhancement of Ethnic Minority Residents (CHEER) for better communication between the EDB officers and the parents of NCS students

3755 6811 (Bahasa Indonesia) 3755 6822 (Nepali)

3755 6833 (Urdu)

3755 6844 (Punjabi)

3755 6855 (Tagalog) 3755 6866 (Thai)

3755 6877 (Hindi)

3755 6888 (Vietnamese)

Thank you!