This letter petition aims at arousing Mr. CY Leung’s attention on the public’s concern Chinese language education for ethnic minorities. We appeal to your support to make a difference together.
The amount of annual grant received, the number of non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students by grade and the percentage of NCS students of all students in respect of the schools with school-based support programmes specifically arranged for NCS students (the so-called “designated schools”) in the 2011/12 and 2012/13 school years are at Annex A.
Hong Kong Unison believes that improving Chinese language education for ethnic minority students is a key to improving the life chances and social mobility of ethnic minority families in Hong Kong.
The Chinese language education for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong does not meet international human rights standards. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has shown concern over the issue in March 2013.
In March 2013, Unison held the Conference on Teaching Chinese as a Second Language to Ethnic Minority Students.
According to Census 2011, ethnic minorities under the age of 15 constitute 5.38% of the population of the same age group. In some ‘designated schools’, up to 99% of the student population is ethnic minorities.
The kindergarten education stage is a crucial period for ethnic minority school children to build a sound foundation in their Chinese language abilities. The children's Chinese proficiency also affects whether their parents place them into mainstream or designated primary schools.
Following is a question by the Dr Hon Chiang Lai-wan and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, in the Legislative Council today (November 14):
Question: