Students attend the welcome ceremony at the Shun Tak Fraternal Association Yung Yau College in Tin Shui Wai, Hong Kong, on Feb 8, 2023. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)
Secondary schools in Hong Kong on Wednesday welcomed back groups of cross-border students for in-person classes, with parents and educators hailing the smooth operation at checkpoints but calling for more help with transportation arrangements.
Thousands of young students picked up their school bags again, bathed in the dawn sunshine, and headed to the checkpoints with their parents. They took selfies to mark the occasion and happily chatted with peers.
Across the border, there were banners welcoming their arrival and schools held special ceremonies for their return. Some schools also sent teachers to Shenzhen to pick up the students.
Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland resumed full cross-boundary travel on Monday, with daily cross-border travel quotas and COVID-19 testing requirements dropped and all the checkpoints reopened.
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According to government arrangements, cross-boundary secondary school students returned to Hong Kong for classes from Wednesday, while cross-boundary kindergarten, primary and special school students will return to Hong Kong from Feb 22.
Wong Ching-hong, president of a parents’ association representing cross-border pupils, said the biggest hurdle for students to return to Hong Kong is that they still need to declare their health situation in a mobile application and get a QR code to cross the border, whether entering or leaving the mainland
Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin said the Education Bureau has been liaising with various departments on the best way to arrange for the safe, orderly and convenient return of cross-boundary students to Hong Kong for classes.
She added that more than 1,000 students passed through Shenzhen Bay Port this morning. Sixteen special channels were opened for their passage. They can also use other e-channels. The clearance process was quite smooth, and they didn’t need to wait in line.
The authorities are working hard to resume school bus services to pick up the students, and are actively following related arrangements such as for applications, licenses, drivers and insurance, Choi said.
Shun Tak Fraternal Association Yung Yau College at Tin Shui Wai in the New Territories on Wednesday welcomed back its first batch of cross-boundary secondary school students after a three-year hiatus.
READ MORE: Back together again
The school arranged a ceremony to mark the long-awaited gathering and for mainland and Hong Kong students to share their experiences in the past three years. It also prepared heart-shaped cards with “welcome back” remarks for students from the mainland. Choi also attended the ceremony.
Mo Kwan-ngai, father of a secondary 5 cross-boundary student at CCC Fong Yun Wah Secondary School, accompanied his daughter to the school via Lok Ma Chau checkpoint. He told China Daily that his daughter was excited to be reunited with classmates she had not seen for a long time.
Students attend the welcome ceremony at the Shun Tak Fraternal Association Yung Yau College in Tin Shui Wai, Hong Kong, on Feb 8, 2023. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)
Amid the pandemic, they moved to Hong Kong for the convenience of their children’s schooling. As the two sides resumed normal travel, they returned to live in Shenzhen.
He added that the clearance process is relatively smooth, taking about 20 minutes. Yet the entrance is crowded as many secondary one and secondary two students are accompanied by their parents. The school coaches have yet to be restored, and it is time-consuming to take the MTR or buses to get to the school by themselves.
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Since the border reopened fully on Monday, exhilarated travelers poured into the checkpoints, especially those at Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau. On both Monday and Tuesday, all the control points recorded over 230,000 cross-border passengers.
Yau Chi-leung, principal of Yuen Long Merchants Association Secondary School, said on a local radio program that only a few cross-border students at his school did not return to Hong Kong on Wednesday due to personal reasons.
Ten others transferred to the Chinese mainland for study amid the pandemic, he said, adding that several students had even chosen to study at a lower grade because of concerns that they couldn’t keep up with the original learning schedule.
He added that the school understands that some cross-border students were late for classes as there were few buses at the border crossings, saying it will not put pressure on them for the time being.
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Wong Ching-hong, president of a parents’ association representing cross-border pupils, said the biggest hurdle for students to return to Hong Kong is that they still need to declare their health situation in a mobile application and get a QR code to cross the border, whether entering or leaving the mainland.
She noted that some younger students have no mobile phones. Some parents who are busy at work also did not get a family visit permit to enter Hong Kong and can’t accompany the children to cross the border. She hopes the health declaration code can be scrapped or be replaced with paper forms.
Wong also suggested that the government increase the number of shuttle vehicles at Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau checkpoints, to make it more convenient for students.