Cross-boundary student plan drafted

May 20, 2020

An initial implementation plan has been formulated on the feasibility of class resumption for about 2,500 cross-boundary secondary students, the Education Bureau said today.

 

The plan followed discussions between the governments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Shenzhen, the bureau said, noting that the Hong Kong SAR Government will remain vigilant in its preventive and control measures despite signs that the COVID-19 situation has eased in Hong Kong.

 

Noting that there are 27,000 cross-boundary students this school year, the bureau said health risks posed to the residents of Hong Kong and Shenzhen will be taken into account when considering whether and how they could resume schooling in Hong Kong.

 

With due regard to their learning needs, a range of issues related to immigration control, epidemic prevention and control policies and transport arrangements are also involved, it added.

 

Exemption from the 14-day compulsory quarantine and class resumption arrangement on a controlled basis should be granted for cross-boundary students, while the safety and health of students, teachers and the public is also of paramount importance.

 

In view of those considerations, the Government will explore the feasibility of class resumption by phases, with a pilot run involving about 2,500 cross-boundary students enrolled in Secondary 3 to 5 in the first phase.

 

These students, being relatively mature and with better self-care ability, can take care of themselves when travelling across the boundary and take transport without being escorted. The class resumption for them will therefore be smoother, the bureau said.

 

According to the initial plan, S3 to S5 cross-boundary students can travel via Shenzhen Bay Port or Futian / Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Port from Monday to Friday for attending school and returning home.

 

The limited opening of Futian / Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Port is only for the students' immigration clearance and is not applicable to other travellers.

 

To avoid unnecessary social contact, upon their arrival in Hong Kong the students will take school buses to school, then return to the boundary control points.

 

They will be subject to the health protection measures of the two places when travelling across the boundary every day, including temperature checks and submission of health declarations to Department of Health staff.

 

They also need to undergo the health and precautionary surveillance to be implemented by schools during school time, and present a negative nucleic acid test result with a validity of seven days to the Shenzhen authority.    

 

As class resumption involves immigration control of the two places, epidemic prevention and control policies and transport arrangements, the Education Bureau will continue to co-ordinate with different parties to enable the first batch of cross-boundary secondary students to attend schools in Hong Kong as early as possible.

 

Since a number of the fine implementation details have yet to be finalised, the new arrangement may not come into effect on May 27. In the meantime, schools and teachers are advised to continue their support for students to learn at home by helping them and their parents through diversified modes of learning.

 

The Education Bureau has sent letters to all secondary schools and special schools with a secondary section requesting them to ask parents for the relevant information so that the departments concerned can consider as soon as possible the feasibility of the initial implementation plan.

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