When asked about the process of transitioning a student from one school to another, I often resort to the same analogy: it’s like repotting a plant. The plant may thrive in its new, larger environment, but there’s always a risk that the roots won’t take hold.
The complexity of these dynamics is multiplied a hundred-fold by the language barriers that many mainland students run into in Hong Kong schools. Disparate educational regimes and subtle cultural differences between the mainland and Hong Kong only exacerbate the situation. School administrators may have experience in integrating a handful of new students each year, but they likely find it overwhelming to do so on the scale described in the report.
We must not assume that students, teachers and schools will simply sort themselves out when they are placed under such strain.
Instead, schools must receive more direct support to integrate new arrivals seamlessly into communities. We can take lessons from Hong Kong’s many international schools, which regularly welcome large numbers of new students among their ranks.
