EDB announces arrangements on application for S1 discretionary places
The Education Bureau (EDB) today (December 4) announced that parents of Primary Six (P6) students participating in the current (2025) cycle of the Secondary School Places Allocation (SSPA) who wish to apply for Secondary One (S1) Discretionary Places (DP) in government, aided and caput secondary schools as well as Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) secondary schools participating in the SSPA System for their children have to submit the applications to the secondary schools concerned between January 2 and 16, 2025.
Digitalisation of SSPA
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Parents who have registered as SSPA e-platform (eSSPA) (esspa.edb.gov.hk) users and bound their account to "iAM Smart+" may browse choice-making information starting from tomorrow (December 5), and submit DP applications and view application results via the eSSPA at a later stage. The EDB encourages parents to register with "iAM Smart+" (www.iamsmart.gov.hk/en/reg.html) as early as possible and activate their eSSPA account using "iAM Smart+" for more convenient and faster electronic services.
To cater for the needs of different parents, paper application forms will continue to be accepted, and primary schools participating in the SSPA System have been informed to collect copies of the Application Forms for Secondary One Discretionary Places (application forms) and the Handbook for Application for Secondary One Discretionary Places (Handbook) tomorrow. Parents of P6 students will each receive two paper application forms from their children's primary school. For students not studying in primary schools participating in the SSPA System (including newly arrived children and dependants under various talent admission schemes who are eligible for participating in the SSPA), their parents can obtain the application forms at the School Places Allocation (SPA) Section of the EDB.
Submission of S1 DP applications
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An EDB spokesman said, "Parents are encouraged to submit the application forms and other required documents to secondary schools via the eSSPA. If parents prefer submitting paper application forms and other necessary documents in person, they should note the school office hours."
The two electronic or paper application forms that parents will receive will show Order of School Preference 1 and School Preference 2 respectively. Order of School Preference 1 stands for the student's first-choice school and Order of School Preference 2 stands for the student's second-choice school. In all circumstances, primary and secondary schools should not request students or parents to disclose their order of preference. Likewise, applicants and their parents should not disclose their order of preference to schools.
The spokesman reminded parents to read carefully the Notes for Parents on Application for Secondary One Discretionary Places. Parents should not submit applications to more than two secondary schools participating in the SSPA no matter whether the applications are submitted via the eSSPA or in paper application form. Otherwise, the DP applications of their children will be rendered void. In addition, parents should not submit duplicate applications via the eSSPA and in paper application form for the same child.
The spokesman said, "The schools to which parents apply for DPs are not restricted by districts. Parents are strongly advised to consider the schools in all respects, such as their educational philosophy, tradition, religion, class structure, admission criteria, development and operation, and their children's characteristics, personalities, abilities and interests to make a suitable school choice. Parents may refer to the relevant information in the Secondary School Profiles (www.chsc.hk/secondary) or school websites for reference.
"Students who are successful in the DP application stage will not be allocated a school place in central allocation (CA). Parents should, therefore, apply to schools of their preference. The EDB will match students' preferences against schools' Successful/Reserve Lists for Discretionary Places. If a student is successful in both schools to which he or she has applied, allocation will be based on the student's order of preference."
Notification arrangements for successful DP applicants
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The spokesman reminded that under the notification arrangements for successful DP applicants, if students are included by participating secondary schools in their Successful Lists for Discretionary Places, their parents will receive notifications from the schools on March 31, 2025. Parents who have registered as eSSPA users may also view notifications for successful DP applicants via the eSSPA starting from 10am on the same day. Parents do not need to reply to the secondary schools whether they would accept the DP offers. The allocation results of DP and CA will be released at the same time on July 8, 2025.
Enquiries
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For the list of secondary schools accepting DP applications and the number of DPs for application, parents may ask for the Handbook from primary schools for reference or obtain the latest version of the Handbook through the EDB website (www.edb.gov.hk) and the fax service of the EDB's 24-hour Automatic Telephone Enquiry System on 2891 0088.
If parents have enquiries about DP applications, they are advised to consult their children's primary schools or the secondary schools to which they apply. For general enquiries, parents may contact the SPA Section (SSPA) of the EDB (Tel: 2832 7740 and 2832 7700; address: Podium Floor, West Block, Education Bureau Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre, 19 Suffolk Road, Kowloon Tong).
2024 Constitution Day Seminar (with photos/video)
To enable the community to have a better understanding of the Constitution, the Basic Law, and the HKSAR's constitutional basis as laid down by the Constitution and the Basic Law, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR today (December 4) jointly held a seminar on Constitution Day, with the Endeavour Education Centre as the supporting organisation.
About 1 000 participants from various sectors of the community attended the Seminar themed "The Constitution and Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively". The Seminar comprised of two parts: a keynote speech and a panel discussion. The keynote speech was delivered by Professor Mo Jihong, who is the Member of the Academy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Director of the Institute of Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Dean of the School of Law of the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Executive Vice-President of the Association of Constitutional Law of the China Law Society. The panel discussion was moderated by member of the Management Committee of the Endeavour Education Centre, Miss Elsie Leung, who hosted a discussion with Hong Kong member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and non-official member of the Executive Council and member of the Legislative Council, Mr Martin Liao; and member of the HKSAR Basic Law Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Dr William Wong, SC, on the vital functions of the Constitution in the process of further deepening reform comprehensively and promoting Chinese modernisation, as well as Hong Kong's integral roles in this regard.
Speaking at the Seminar, the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, said that in the course of further deepening the reform comprehensively, the status of the Constitution as the fundamental law of the country must be upheld, and the provisions, principles and spirit of the Constitution must be firmly safeguarded and implemented, so as to ensure that the reforms are heading in the right direction and are carried out correctly and steadily. At the same time, education on the Constitution must be stepped up, because only when all people fully understand the content and spirit of the Constitution, a favourable atmosphere of respecting and abiding by the law can be created in society, and reforms can move forward steadily while abiding by the rule of law. He pointed out that the Resolution (the Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization) adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC Central Committee) put forward more than 300 important reform initiatives, many of which are closely related to Hong Kong, and the key requirement throughout is that the HKSAR should fully capitalise on the institutional advantages under the "one country, two systems" principle.
Addressing in his speech, Mr Zheng Yanxiong, the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, mentioned that with the propelling of further comprehensive deepening of reforms, the full implementation of the Constitution mechanism will be further enhanced. The rule of law and Rule of the Constitution will step to a new stage and enter a new horizon in the new journey of the Chinese modernisation. The spirit of the rule of law and innovation will lead Hong Kong to a higher level of security and quality development. At present, with the staunch support of the Central Government, the strong leadership of the HKSAR Government, and the concerted efforts of all sectors of the HKSAR, the situations in Hong Kong society remain stable, and the economic and social developments of Hong Kong experience favourable changes. Hong Kong is now entering the best period for striving for economic growth and development at full strength.
When delivering his keynote speech, Professor Mo expressed his full confidence in the future of Hong Kong, which originates from the successful implementation of the Basic Law in Hong Kong in an active and effective manner. He pointed out that we must firmly establish the awareness of the importance of the Constitution, consciously uphold the authoritative status of the Constitution as the fundamental law in promoting Hong Kong's economic development and prosperity, use the reform spirit of the Constitution to promote practical innovation of the HKSAR's system, and continue to ensure that on the premise of the Central Authorities' effective exercise of overall jurisdiction, we can fully mobilise and utilise the initiative and proactiveness of all sectors of the community in Hong Kong, and encourage and support the HKSAR and the HKSAR Government to make good use of the high degree of autonomy conferred by the Constitution and the Basic Law, in order to place the legitimate rights and interests of Hong Kong residents at the core position of the HKSAR's system.
During the panel discussion of the Seminar, Mr Liao said the Constitution is the founding capital of modern countries and a country's fundamental law which possess the highest authority and status. We are all familiar that the Constitution is also the crystal of unity for the party and the country and unity for the people. It is also a mutual adaptation to the history of the country, the cultural background, the social values, as well as the current institution and mechanism, and a representation of the entire country's spiritual outlook, both internally and externally. Dr Wong pointed out that the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee put forward new development concepts, emphasising on comprehensive ruling of the country in accordance with the law. He considered this as opportunities for all young people in Hong Kong, for the reason that establishing a completely fair cultural awareness and a fair mechanism allow all citizens to give full play to their strengths and pursue happy lives.
The Government has arranged the government website as well as some major television stations to broadcast live the Seminar. The full version of the Seminar will also be uploaded to the website of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau (www.cmab.gov.hk/en/home/index.htm) to enable members of the public to review the Seminar. They may visit the dedicated webpage (www.cmab.gov.hk/en/issues/constitution_day.htm) for other information about Constitution Day.
2024 Constitution Day Seminar (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
2024 Constitution Day Seminar (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
2024 Constitution Day Seminar (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
