This undated photo shows students in a classroom of Saikwan Pui Ching Primary School in Guangzhou city of Guangdong province. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

HONG KONG – Two public schools in Guangzhou’s Yuexiu district have pilot programs that provide quality compulsory education exclusively to Hong Kong and Macao students whose parents work in Guangzhou.

Chao Tian School, the oldest public primary school in Guangdong province with a history over 100 years, and Pui Ching Middle School, which was founded in 1889, set up a first-grade class that enrolls a limited number of 35 students. Students whose parent is a holder of mainland residence card for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents and currently works in Guangzhou will only be eligible for admission.

Should students be not successfully enrolled into these two public schools, they can still study at other schools in Yuexiu district 

Chen Qiao, Officer, Education Bureau, Yuexiu District

Student admission is conducted via a points-based algorithm. Residence card, a steady job, stable habitation, investment in Yuexiu district and tax records are all quantified to certain points, according to the document publicized.

The school and Yuexiu Education Bureau offer the applicants’ children slots in the class by calculating their accumulated points—the higher, the better. 

Should students be not successfully enrolled into these two public schools, they can still study at other schools in Yuexiu district, said Chen Qiao, officer from the Education Bureau of Yuexiu District.

This is the first time in the mainland that a public school runs such a class tailored for Hong Kong and Macao students, according to Chen.

Liao Dong, deputy chief of the Education Bureau Yuexiu district, said other schools, for example in Tianhe, another district in Guangzhou, also enroll Hong Kong and Macao students, but they decided to set up an exclusive class for these students.

Only in this way the school can provide Hong Kong and Macao students customized education and innovative development plan and also better train the teachers to meet their demand.

The Greater Bay Area outline development plan released in February proposes to “set up schools or provide specific classes for the admission of Hong Kong and Macao children in Guangdong with boarding services”.

The special class in Yuexiu expose them to practical courses, after-class activities and study tours where they can exchange with their mainland counterparts and adapt to the mainland’s education system. 

Experienced teachers who can speak Cantonese also give them a hand in study and daily life, according to an admission committee spokesman.

Apart from the required courses, these two schools offer feature courses such as traditional Chinese character reading and writing, Lingnan culture course, Sinology, and STEAM courses (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics). 

Most of above are taught in Mandarin, but some in Cantonese, and some in English by foreign faculty members.

The pilot project also allows teachers from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao to teach in different places on a short-term basis as guest lecturers. Senior educators from Hong Kong and Macao are invited to help with curriculum design, teacher training and entrance examination consultancy.