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Parents of Primary six students participating in the current (2007) cycle of the Secondary School Places Allocation (SSPA) System would soon receive documents on the choice of secondary schools from their children's primary schools, a spokesman for the Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB) said today (April 24).
Primary schools participating in the SSPA system have been asked to collect the following documents today:
* Secondary One Choice of Schools Form (Choice Form);
* Notes for Parents on Central Allocation (Notes for Parents);
* Secondary School List (SSL); and
* Handbook for Unrestricted School Choices (Handbook)
Primary schools should distribute the above documents to parents as soon as possible. Each Primary Six student will be distributed a copy each of the Choice Form, Notes for Parents and the SSL for the school net he/she belongs to. Parents may refer to the handbook distributed to primary schools and uploaded onto the EMB's Homepage (http://www.emb.gov.hk).
"Starting from this cycle, with the introduction of school choices unrestricted by school nets at the Central Allocation (CA) stage, the Choice Form is divided into two parts (Part A and Part B). Parents should refer to the handbook when filling in Part A "Unrestricted School Choices" of the Choice Form and choose a maximum of three secondary schools from any school nets (including the student's school net). As for Part B "Restricted School Choices", similar to the arrangements of previous years, parents should refer to their child's SSL and choose a maximum of 30 secondary schools according to their preference. Parents must not enter any school choices which do not belong to the child's school net in Part B as invalid school choices will not be processed," the spokesman said.
The spokesman added that under the revised SSPA system, the quota for Discretionary Places had been increased from 20% to 30%, and 10% of the CA places of secondary schools have to be set aside for allocation of unrestricted school choices in Part A. As a result, the number of open places available for allocation of restricted school choices under Part B would be reduced.
The spokesman reminded parents that prior to making school choices for their children, they should read carefully the Notes for Parents. Parents are also encouraged to watch the VCD distributed to them in November last year to understand in detail the SSPA System.
When making school choices for their children, parents may refer to the Secondary School Profiles 2006-2007 published in December last year by the Committee on Home-School Co-operation for information supplied by the secondary schools. Parents may visit the Secondary School Profiles homepage (http://embhsc.hkedcity.net/secondary) for the schools' latest development.
"Parents must complete and return as soon as possible the Choice Forms to their children's primary schools for submission to EMB on or before May 8," the spokesman said.
Parents who have questions in completing the Choice Forms are advised to consult their children's primary schools. Relevant information about the SSPA System and some frequently asked questions have also been uploaded onto the EMB homepage (http://www.emb.gov.hk) for parents' reference.
Parents may call the EMB automatic telephone enquiry service on 2891 0088. Further enquiries may also be directed to the School Places Allocation Section (SSPA) on 2832 7740 and 2832 7700.
Ends/Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:01
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