RTHK 19/Feb 鏗鏘集 - 國際學校誰讀?

FattyDaddy

nintendo 發表於 12-2-20 15:50
The Cat system oes not put expat in any advantageous position.
Anyone can be a Cat One including 100 ...

Cat One has priority over Cat Two, and most local kids are Cat Two.

It is true that some local kids are Cat One. There are at least 1 million Hongkongers who have foreign citizenship, so it is not unusual for them to bring up their kids as Cat One, but then it would be one foreign citizen competing with another foreign citizen on equal grounds.

The point I'm trying to make is there are no unfair practices, and a foreigner putting the blame on "that Chinese couple next door" is just plain rude and arrogant.

nintendo

You have twisted what I said.
I never said anything about unfair practices.
I was just trying to say it was unfair for you to say the kid did not get a place at ESF because of her ability.
I do not see the mother blaming the other parent but just venting.
I would say that if the chance to interview was by random draw, anyonw that did not get a chance would feel bad.
But, well, never mind. Not exactly my business so may be I should have shut up.

FattyDaddy

nintendo 發表於 12-2-20 16:49
I never said anything about unfair practices.
I was just trying to say it was unfair for you to say the kid did not get a place at ESF because of her ability. ...

OK, the foreign kid competed without any disadvantages among local kids and failed, fair and square, and lets leave it at that.

There are many possible reasons for not getting an interview besides simply having bad luck in a random draw, may be the kid was a bully in kindergarten. Whatever the reason, your guess is as good as mine  {:1_1:}

Mighty

Anyone, regardless nationalities, can go to JIS if there are vacancies.  As far as I know there is a waiting list too.  It is in Tai Po and most of the expats live in Hong Kong Island.  They cant send their kids there, can they?

flashingcat

回復 madscientist 的帖子

Not at all.  JIS international section, japanese kid will not have an advanage, there is only one class per grade, meaning 22 kids in reception and 25 kids from P1.  Their priority is: Pure foreigners, Mixed then Japanese.  As more and more foreigners are living in MOS area now, this year in the reception class, they accepted almost all foreigners, only one japanese kid (his daddy is working for JIS japanese section).  Speaking of JIS Japanese section, yes, japanese can always join as long as you have a japan passport.   

Most foreigners are living on Island or around kowloon station, their class starts at 7:50am, even my friend need to send his daughter on the school bus before 7, speaking like 6:30am from hunghom area.

hhy2007

Talking about placing a quota on local students, most of international schools in Asian countries including the mainland China are only allowed to admit 20-25% local students who are not foreign citizens.  That's the reason why many international schools in China were bargaining with Chinese government during 2008 financial crisis to try to increase the percentage allocated for local Chinese students.

flashingcat

回復 madscientist 的帖子

PM you, pls check

FattyDaddy

hhy2007 發表於 12-2-21 09:31
Talking about placing a quota on local students, most of international schools in Asian countries in ...

This kind of quota isn't going to make much of a difference in Hongkong because of the VAST number of Hongkongers having foreign citizenship.

If a quota is to work it must be placed on racial grounds, e.g. not only must the child be a Canadian citizen but he/she must also be white, but this is straying into a minefield.

mrshoho

They can't do that, that is racism.

FattyDaddy

mrshoho 發表於 12-2-21 11:34
They can't do that, that is racism.

Exactly!

People just have to face the fact that Hongkong is a special case. Due to historical reasons A LOT of Hongkongers are also foreign citizens, I would say at least 1 million (15% of the population) possess foreign citizenship and there is no other solution but to increase the number and capacity of international schools.

FattyDaddy

madscientist 發表於 12-2-21 12:11
the current advantage given to Foreign kids are already quite large

That's right, foreign kids are NOT competing from a disadvantaged position, if anything, they already have priorities and advantages in one form or another. The difficulty they face arose primarily from the lack of international schools in Hongkong, they are certainly not unfairly "squeezed out" by local kids as that British woman was trying to say in the programme.

ANChan59

Even IS is not my cup of tea, I learnt some ideas from the thread and get deeper about the problem behind the shortage of Places.

Great discussion.

WYmom

FattyDaddy 發表於 12-2-21 11:54
Exactly!

People just have to face the fact that Hongkong is a special case. Due to historical reas ...

Agree, many HK people immigrated to other countries and return back... their kids are ethical Chinese but they were raised in overseas countries for sometime... so they are Cat 1.  So the English teacher in the program accused that the kids of Chinese parents got interview - that may not be a fair accuse as she did not understand that many HK people are in fact also citizens of US, UK, Canada and Australia.  Besides, there are also many mixed children, Asians who are Japanese, Koreans etc.  Not all people with Asian faces are Chinese!!!

FattyDaddy

WYmom 發表於 12-2-21 15:02
Agree, many HK people immigrated to other countries and return back...

That's why Hongkong's situation is unique.

In most parts of the world, international schools serve just one purpose, to make it easier for foreigners to bring their families along, thereby encourages them to stay longer and contribute more. But in Hongkong, international schools serve another purpose in addition to this, which is to provide Hongkongers who have foreign citizenship the chance of giving their children an overseas style education without leaving, and this additional purpose is as important if not more important than the first, given the vast number of Hongkongers who are also foreign citizens.

Of course, there is a third purpose which some people might find disagreeable. There are many local Hongkongers who have no confidence in the way Hongkong's education system is heading and want to opt out of local schools. Although these people might not have as valid a claim to international schools as foreigners and foreign Hongkongers, they should not be treated with contempt.

In most cases, foreign children are competing for places in international schools against children of foreign Hongkongers, on an equal footing without any unfairness, and not so much against children of local Hongkongers who are always at a disadvantage because their English abilities are likely to be weaker.

FattyDaddy

xx33 發表於 12-2-24 03:26
不可不知, 強國人講國語, 所以係CAT1!!!!!

Actually this is not true, although they cannot speak Cantonese, but they can read/write Chinese characters, so they would not be Cat 1.

Category One
Children who speak English as a first or alternative language but do not speak Cantonese and/or read and write Chinese characters.
http://www.esf.edu.hk/our-schools/admissions-criteria/admissions-policy-and-procedures