DSE备战英文科｜社论学英文—多管齐下纾缓幼稚园停办潮

2024-03-18 14:00

多管齐下纾缓幼稚园停办潮

2023年12月5日《星岛日报》社论

中小学缩班杀校时有所闻，不少幼稚园也被逼停办，有业界人士警告，随著出生率下跌、移民潮、疫情打击等不利因素夹击，更坏的情况陆续有来。香港幼稚园的质素一向有保证，大家都不想看到「停办潮」持续。希望政府适时提供更有力的支援，防止更多幼稚园在营运状况改善前倒下，业界也应加倍努力，通过不同渠道招收新生，纾缓停办潮，保卫作为珍贵基础教育资源的幼稚园。

根本原因是学生人数减少

教育局早前回覆立法会财委会时指出，2022/23学年（截至2023年2月），有5间幼稚园停办。加上2023年9月和11月宣布结业的九龙塘根德园幼稚园和北角圣保罗堂幼稚园，以及最近宣布停办消息的香港教育大学幼儿发展中心和香港浸会大学附属幼稚园，停办的幼稚园已有9间。如此情况无疑是一个警号。

接连有幼稚园结业，足证有关情况绝非个别现象，根本原因是学生人数减少。今年5月，教联会向全港幼稚园展开问卷调查，共收到320份回应。调查结果显示，近84%受访学校表示2023/24学年K1学生人数大幅减少。近35%受访幼稚园指，2023/24学年K1学生人数较2022/23年度大约减少21至30人。两个学年K1学生人数相比，仅有16.6%学校表示减少人数低于10人。四成受访学校表示，今年放弃学额的学生人数增加，当中近八成半学校反映，学生人数减少的主因是所在校区出生率下跌，另有逾七成半学生是因移民而退学。

出生率下跌和人口外移的问题，短时间内是难以逆转的，但并非不能通过行政措施纾缓。例如2023年《施政报告》便提出多项鼓励生育政策，包括提供新生婴儿奖励金、推行「家有初生优先选楼计划」等举措。这些措施值得欢迎，但其成效毕竟需要数年才可以看到，难解燃眉之急。当前政府最逼切要做的，就是对幼稚园提供灵活的财政资助。2020年3月至2022年3月期间，当局先后5次为所有幼稚园提供额外资助，助其渡过疫情下的财政困难。如今依旧有不少幼稚园面对资金问题，假如政府同意发放更多津贴，或者调高每名幼稚园学童的资助额，甚至放宽幼稚园申请增加学费的门槛，相信有助业界挺过一时的财政困难。

业界应主动出击开拓生源

与此同时，业界亦要主动出击，积极开拓生源。香港虽然承受少子化和移民潮的冲击，但各项「抢人才」计划适时为香港补充「新血」。今年截至10月底，各项人才入境计划共有11.4万宗申请获批，在计划下的受养人签证8.1万宗获批，当中4.7万宗为18岁以下未婚子女受养人。这4.7万人中，有多少人是3至6岁适合入读幼稚园的学童，数字并不确切。教育局应和负责「抢人才」计划的劳福局密切沟通，掌握来港幼童数目，让幼稚园业界有条件制订相应的招生策略。

不少大湾区家长心仪香港教育制度，却未必了解详情，加强宣传实属必要。2023年12月中旬亚博馆举行首届（大湾区）香港学校教育展，向大湾区家长简介香港教育制度和各校特色，届时将有百多间中小学及幼稚园参展。希望将来还有更多幼稚园参与不同推广活动，多向内地甚至东南亚的家长做好解说工作，既「抢人才」，也「抢人才子女」，煞停停办潮。

近84%受访学校表示2023/24学年K1学生人数大幅减少。（图片来源：幼根德园幼稚园）

房委会推行「家有初生优先选楼计划」，合资格人士可获缩减一年轮候时间。

保罗堂幼稚园北角分校停办，与中环分校合并。

传统名私幼根德园幼稚园宣布停办

学生人数减少的主因是所在校区出生率下跌，另有逾七成半学生是因移民而退学。

Multi-pronged approach to ease kindergarten closures

Just as primary and secondary schools are cutting classes and closing down, many kindergartens have also been forced to cease operation. There have been warnings in the sector that with a declining birth rate, migration wave, pandemic, etc., the worst is yet to come. The quality of kindergartens has always been guaranteed and no one wants to see more closures. Hopefully the government will provide timely and powerful support to prevent them from failing before their improved operation. The industry should also double efforts in student recruitment to safeguard kindergartens as a precious source of basic education.

Main issue - falling student population

In an earlier reply to the Legco Finance Committee, the Education Bureau (EB) pointed out that in the 2022/23 school year (as of February 2023), five kindergartens closed down. Together with the Kentville Kindergarten in Kowloon Tong and St. Paul's Church Kindergarten in North Point that announced closing in September and November this year, as well as the Early Childhood Learning Centre of the Education University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Baptist University Kindergarten, which recently announced their closure, there are a total of nine. This is a clear warning. 　　

The spate of closures is not an isolated phenomenon. The reason behind is the decrease in number of students. The Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers launched a questionnaire survey for all kindergartens in May and received a total of 320 responses. The results showed that nearly 84 per cent of the schools surveyed said that the number of K1 students decreased dramatically in the 2023/24 school year. Nearly 35 per cent stated that the number of K1 students in the 2023/24 school year was approximately 21 to 30 fewer. Comparing two school years' figures, only 16.6 per cent reported a loss of less than 10 students. Forty per cent said that the number of students giving up their places this year increased. Nearly 85 per cent of them reported the main reasons being the decrease amid a lower birth rate and over 75 per cent of the students migrating. 　　

The problems of falling birth rates and migration are not easy to reverse in the near future, but they are not impossible to offset through administrative measures. For example, the Policy Address proposed several initiatives to encourage childbearing, including cash bonus for newborn babies and the "Families with Newborns Flat Selection Priority Scheme". These measures are welcomed, but not immediate solutions. It is most urgent for the government to provide flexible financial assistance. From March 2020 to March 2022, the authorities gave additional subsidies to kindergartens five times to help them tide over the difficulties amid the pandemic. Today, many kindergartens are still having problems with funding. If there are more subsidies, increasing the amount for each student or even relaxing the threshold for raising tuition fees, it will help the industry through temporary financial difficulties. 　　

Meanwhile, the industry must take theinitiative to recruit students. Although Hong Kong is impacted by the declining birth rate and migration wave, various "compete for talents" schemes have added "new blood". As of the end of October, 114,000 applications have been approved through different talent admission schemes with 81,000 dependent visas - 47,000 for unmarried dependent children under the age of 18. But there is no exact figure on how many of them are kindergarten age between three and six. The EB should communicate closely with the Labour and Welfare Bureau in charge of the schemes to have a good grasp of their numbers so that kindergartens can create corresponding enrolment strategies.

Sector should proactively recruit

Many parents in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) are interested in Hong Kong's education system, but they may not possess detailed understanding. Publicity must thus be enhanced. In mid-December, the AsiaWorld-Expo will be holding the First GBA Hong Kong School Education Expo to introduce Hong Kong's education system and school features to GBA parents. More than a hundred primary & secondary schools and kindergartens will be participating. Hopefully more kindergartens will join promotion activities for mainland or even Southeast Asia parents. We should compete for talents' dependents as well as talents themselves to halt kindergarten closures.

Vocabulary

timely (adj) —— 及时的
spate (n) —— 一阵
reverse (v) —— 逆转
childbearing (n) —— 生育
newborn (adj) —— 新生的
immediate (adj) —— 直接的
threshold (n) —— 门槛
grasp (n) —— 掌握

Useful Terms

migration wave —— 移民潮
isolated phenomenon —— 个别现象
cash bonus —— 奖励金
dependent visa —— 受养人签证

Did you know?

To encourage childbearing amid the persistently low birth rate, there will be a one-off cash bonus for each baby born in Hong Kong to a parent who is a permanent resident, a raise in the accommodation-related tax deduction ceiling as well as priority arrangements for purchase of subsidized sale flats and allocation of public rental housing flats for families with newborns.

Q&A

The word _____ in the first paragraph is the opposite of "late".
The recent kindergarten _____ serve as a warning of the situation.
In the passage, the word _____ means "understanding".
There are no exact figures on how many kindergarten _____ children are entering Hong Kong.
According to the last paragraph, kindergartens should participate more in _____ activities.