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Admission Arrangements
for Nursery (K1) Classes in Kindergartens (including Kindergarten-cum-child care centres)
for the 2023/24 School Year Frequently Asked Questions (A) Kindergarten (KG) Education Scheme
1. Q: Under the KG education scheme, how would the Government subsidise KGs?
A: The Government has implemented the KG education scheme (Scheme) starting from the 2017/18 school year to enhance the quality of education in various aspects through different measures. Under the Scheme, the Government provides basic subsidy directly for eligible KGs for the provision of three-year quality half-day (HD) services for all eligible children. To unleash the potential of the local labour force under the population policy, additional resources are provided for eligible KGs offering whole-day (WD) and long WD (LWD) services to encourage them to offer such services at a more affordable rate. Please refer to the EDB Circular No. 7/2016 for details on the Scheme.
2. Q: How can KGs be eligible to join the Scheme?
A: KGs should be local non-profit-making with proven track records on providing quality KG education. KGs are also required to meet a certain eligibility criteria such as requirements in teacher qualifications, teacher-pupil ratio, level of school fees, etc.
(B) Admission Arrangements for K1 Classes in KGs for the 2023/24 School Year (hereafter referred to as the “2023/24 K1 Admission Arrangements”)
3. Q: Under the Scheme, will the EDB continue the implementation of K1 Admission Arrangements?
A: Under the Scheme, the EDB will continue the implementation of K1 Admission Arrangements in the 2023/24 school year with a view to facilitating the smooth operation of the admission process of KGs, so as to avoid hoarding of more than one place by a child at any time. KGs could confirm enrolment for manpower planning early, and also facilitate parents concerned to confirm a KG place for their children in a timely manner.
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4. Q: What kind of KGs will join the 2023/24 K1 Admission Arrangements?
A: The 2023/24 K1 Admission Arrangements are applicable to all KGs joining the Scheme (Scheme-KGs) and local KGs not joining the Scheme (Non-Scheme local KGs) joining these arrangements (Please refer to Question 15 below for the ways of Non-Scheme local KGs joining the 2023/24 K1 Admission Arrangements) . Parents may approach KGs concerned direct for details.
5. Q: For those children studying in pre-nursery classes in the same KG, does the registration procedure (including registration with a valid registration document) also apply to them?
A: Yes. The registration procedure (including registration with a valid registration document) applies to all KGs joining the 2023/24 K1 Admission Arrangements and children applying for K1 to K3 places in the 2023/24 school year. In this regard, if children who are currently enroled on pre- nursery classes wish to attend K1 class in the same KG, they must submit a valid registration document to the KG concerned for keeping the school place.
(C) Measures under the 2023/24 K1 Admission Arrangements (a) Distribution of Application Forms
6. Q: Are KGs permitted to distribute application forms for 2023/24 K1 classes earlier than November?
A: KG admission arrangements are school-based matters. KGs can make appropriate arrangements in accordance with their school-based circumstances, including when to distribute the application forms, and they should notify parents in advance of the related arrangements. Irrespective of the means of distributing application forms, KGs should not limit the number forms to be distributed and should not set a quota on the number of application forms to be collected. Nevertheless, KGs should not start the recruitment procedure which involves K1 class applicants (e.g. interviewing the child-applicants) for the next school year earlier than November each year, so as to avoid any undesirable effect on young children. If parents have any enquiries on the distribution of the application forms, they should approach individual KGs direct.
(b) School-based Admission Mechanism of KGs
7. Q: Is it compulsory for KGs to arrange interviews for all child-applicants for K1 classes? Will a KG violate anti-discrimination ordinances if it intends not to arrange interviews for all child-applicants?
A: Generally speaking, a KG will not violate existing anti-discrimination ordinances if it sets a quota on the number of child-applicants to be interviewed
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in accordance with its own school-based admission mechanism without taking into consideration the child-applicant’s sex, race or disabilities. It is very important for KGs to inform parents of the details of their school-based admission mechanism in advance through effective channels (e.g. guidance notes in application forms, admission guidelines/leaflets, school websites, etc.) and upload the relevant information, 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 in KGs onto the school website to facilitate browsing and downloadingby parents . In addition, KGs should be prepared to provide justification and the underlying rationale for their school-based admission mechanism in answering the related enquiries.
8. Q: What are the points to note for KGs’ admission arrangements regarding the Race Discrimination Ordinance (RDO)?
A: According to the RDO, on the grounds of the race of that other person, if the service providers refuse to admit that other person or expel that other person from school, or apply less favourable requirements and conditions to that other person than the service providers apply or would apply to other persons, the service providers might constitute a breach of the Ordinance. Besides, as language is always related to race, treatment to applicants on the grounds of their language might constitute discrimination of that racial group. In this connection, KGs must provide both Chinese and English versions of the application form and relevant information. To facilitate parents of non- Chinese speaking (NCS) children in obtaining relevant information, KGs should create an icon, simple message in English or provide a link to the English version of 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. 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 (http://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 or the webpage providing the admission information in English) to facilitate parents in browsing relevant information. KGs must be careful about the details of admission arrangements on whether they may involve direct or indirect discrimination; when answering enquiries from parents, teacher and staff should offer assistance as appropriate and avoid misunderstanding.
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. To facilitate parents of NCS children in enquiring about school-based admission mechanism, KGs have to put in place effective means of communication and offer assistance to NCS children and their parents as far as practicable. KGs should provide the
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information on their support to NCS children, enquiry telephone number and email address for parents of NCS children on the school website. 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.
When interviewing NCS children, KGs should arrange interpretation and/or translation service for applicants where necessary, or allow parents and children to be accompanied by a Chinese speaking relative/friend during interview with NCS children to facilitate communication. KGs should state explicitly the above-mentioned interview arrangements on the school website to inform parents of NCS children that the above assistance could be offered.
Schools can make use of the free-of-charge telephone interpretation service provided by Centre for Harmony and Enhancement of Ethnic Minority Residents (CHEER) funded by the Home Affairs Department. The telephone interpretation service hotlines are:
3755 6811 (Bahasa Indonesian)
3755 6822 (Nepali)
3755 6833 (Urdu)
3755 6844 (Punjabi)
3755 6855 (Tagalog)
3755 6866 (Thai)
3755 6877 (Hindi)
3755 6888 (Vietnamese)
Other than the telephone interpretation service mentioned above, CHEER also provides other interpretation and translation services. Schools can contact CHEER direct to gain more understanding on the relevant services if deemed necessary. Please refer to the following website for details:
http://hkcscheer.net/en/interpretation-and-translation-services
Equal Opportunities Commission has also published an “Easy Guide on Promoting Racial Equality in Schools Kindergarten Admission (Applicable to Kindergartens with Local Curriculum)”. For details, please browse:
http://www.eoc.org.hk/EOC/GraphicsFolder/inforcenter/rise/leaflet_output_for_we b_2pages.pdf
9. Q: Under the Scheme, will the priority in admission to WD/LWD services be given to the families in need?
A: Under the Scheme, student admission in principle will continue to be at the discretion of individual KGs. 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, KGs, when considering applications
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for WD/LWD services, 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). As the number of KG school places is limited, not all applicants fulfilling the priority consideration will be guaranteed a school place.
(c) “One Child Not More Than One Place” Measure
10. Q: What is the purpose of setting up 2023/24 K1 Admission Arrangements?
A: Parents may choose a KG suitable for their children with regard to their needs, while admission is at the discretion of individual KGs. The 2023/24 K1 Admission Arrangements is not a school places allocation mechanism. The arrangements do not arrange school places for children applying for K1 places for the 2023/24 school year. The introduction of the 2023/24 K1 Admission Arrangements aims to help prevent a child from hoarding more than one place at any one time. Through this measure, parents will make a decision and sign up with one selected KG as early as possible, thus releasing vacant places for children on the waiting list. The measure will not only allow KGs to confirm their K1 vacancy situation earlier, but will also alleviate the worry of parents who have yet to secure KG places for their children.
11. Q: Are parents allowed to enrol their children to both the morning (AM) and afternoon (PM) sessions of Scheme-KGs at the same time?
A: No.
Studies show that family education plays a crucial and complementary role in nurturing children. A HD programme can not only meet the requirements of the curriculum, it also allows relatively more time for children to play and interact with their family in a less-structured and more relaxing setting so as to strengthen their bonding and sense of security. Enroling children in both the AM and PM sessions of KGs will bring them unnecessary pressure, shorten their rest and play time and cause adverse effects to their healthy growth and balanced development. Besides, letting children enrol in both AM and PM sessions of Scheme-KG(s) will affect equal opportunities for receiving subsidised KG education of other children.
In view of the above considerations and for making good use of Government resources, Scheme-KGs can only admit children holding a valid registration document. If parents have already submitted the valid registration document of their children and registration fee to a Scheme-KG, and completed the registration procedures, later on, the 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.
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To fully implement this measure, principles of the above arrangement are also applicable to K2 and K3. In short, regardless of the level, all Scheme- KGs can only admit children with valid registration documents (including newly- admitted children, children transferred from other KGs and repeaters).
(d) Centralised Registration Dates and Release of Information on K1 Vacancies
12. Q: If parents cannot present a valid registration document to KGs during the Centralised Registration Dates, can they complete the registration procedure?
A: In principle, under the 2023/24 K1 Admission Arrangements, all Scheme-KGs can only admit children holding a valid registration document. Parents have to submit a valid registration document as the document for K1 registration.
If parents cannot submit a valid registration document to the KG their child has been admitted to during the Centralised Registration Dates, the KG concerned may not be able to complete registration for their child. As such, parents should submit application for a valid registration document to the EDB as soon as possible in order to obtain a valid registration document (“Registration Certificate for KG Admission”hereafter referred to as the “RC”
or “Kindergarten Admission Pass” hereafter referred to as the “AP”) before the Centralised Registration Dates for registration purpose. In parallel, parents should understand from KGs which admitted their child in advance about the arrangements for not being able to submit a valid registration document to KGs during the Centralised Registration Dates.
13. Q: When will the EDB start releasing the K1 vacancy information?
A: After the Centralised Registration Dates, the EDB will release K1 vacancy information starting from early February 2023. The information will be regularly updated and released through the following channels:
1. The EDB’s website (http://www.edb.gov.hk/k1-admission_e) 2. Regional Education Offices
3. The EDB telephone hotline (2891 0088)
Nevertheless, parents should note that the K1 vacancy information is subject to change and the information is for reference only. Parents who wish to seek K1 places for their children should approach KGs direct for the most up-to- date K1 vacancy information or admission procedures. Student admission result is at the discretion of the KGs. To obtain more information about individual KGs, parents may approach related KGs direct or refer to the website of the Profile of Kindergartens and Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centres (https://www.chsc.hk/kindergarten/).
14. Q: Can KGs require parents to make preliminary registration through any forms before the Centralised Registration Dates?
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A: 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.
(e) Non-Scheme local KGs joining the 2023/24 K1 Admission Arrangements
15. Q： In what ways do non-Scheme local KGs join the 2023/24 K1 Admission Arrangements？
A: Non-Scheme local KGs can opt to join:
(i) Upload admission application forms onto their websites for downloading by parents (in case printed application forms are distributed, KGs should not set a quota on the number of copies for distribution); and/or
(ii) “Not More Than One Place for Each Child” measure; and/or
(iii) Release of information on K1 vacancies to the public through the EDB’s electronic platform.
The list of non-Scheme local KGs joining the 2023/24 K1 Admission Arrangements will be uploaded onto the EDB’s website (http://www.edb.gov.hk/k1-admission_e) by mid-July 2022.
16. Q： If non-Scheme local KGs adopt the “Not More Than One Place for Each Child” measure, what document should parents use for registration at these KGs during the Centralised Registration Dates?
A: Under the 2023/24 K1 Admission Arrangements, in principle, a valid registration document will be used as the registration document by all KGs (including non-Scheme KGs) joining the K1 Admission Arrangements for K1 registration. The parents concerned should note that the RC / AP will be submitted to non-Scheme KGs for K1 registration only.
17. Q： Are non-Scheme local KGs required to return the valid registration document to parents after completing the registration procedure during the Centralised Registration Dates?
A: Since the registration document is adopted as the document for K1 registration to avoid the hoarding of more than one place by a child at any one time, the registration document will be retained by non-Scheme local KGs joining the
“Not More Than One Place for Each Child” measure after completion of the registration procedure. If parents intend to change to another KG after registration, they should get back the registration document from the KG they have already registered with. Parents should note that upon retrieving the registration document from the KG, it will not reserve a school place for the child concerned and the registration fee will not be refunded.
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(f) Application for the “Provisional Registration Letter”
18. Q: For parents who have already obtained the RC and their children are attending a K1 class in a Scheme-KG in the 2022/23 school year, if they wish to re-enrol their children in K1 in the 2023/24 school year, they can apply for the Provisional Registration Letter as the document for registration purpose. In this case, what is the validity period of the subsidy concerned?
A: Generally speaking, the maximum validity period of the subsidy for kindergarten education for eligible children is three years. If parents have already obtained the RC and their children are attending a K1 class in a Scheme-KG in the 2022/23 school year, the remaining validity period of the subsidy will be two years. If children repeat in K1 due to personal consideration (e.g. individual conditions of the students, family factors, changing schools, etc.) and result in an extension of KG education to more than three years, parents will be required to pay the full school fee before deduction of subsidy under the Scheme.
