School principals in North District are bracing for chaotic scenes on Saturday, when the Education Bureau announces the allocation for Primary One places.

There is a shortage of school places in the district - and a lack of information on the temporary arrangements being made for affected pupils.

An influx of Hong Kong-born students whose parents are mainlanders crossing the border to come to school is one cause of the shortage.

The bureau, which earlier estimated there would be a shortage of 1,400 Primary One places in the district, proposed three solutions, including adding 14 more Primary One classes and "borrowing" 400 places from the adjacent Tai Po District.

The bureau is also studying the possibility of adding five students to each class - enlarging classes of 25 students to 30, and classes of 30 students to 35. It also promised to make arrangements for students forced to study elsewhere to eventually return to schools in North District. However, these details have not been announced.

A source told The Standard that under the return mechanism parents must register their child with the bureau. They will be given a week to consider whether to keep their children where they have been assigned or to return to North District.

Writes Beatrice Siu for The Standard