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The Summer break for school kids around Hong Kong has started four months earlier than usual. The government announced the closure at the start of the fifth wave of the Covid pandemic in order to avoid students cramming onto campuses. The government said earlier that at least 400 schools will be used as Covid testing centres. But school is supposed to resume after the Easter holidays, with the academic year ending on Aug. 12. Sammi Lam Wing-yan, 45, is a mother of a 12-year-old and a 6-year-old. “My original plan was to take a few weeks off in July and August to accompany my kids,” said Lam. “But I am unable to apply for leave this month and need to find someone else to take care of my kids during the daytime.” Law Fung-sim, a kindergarten teacher, said the arrangement hinders the learning ability of preschoolers. “Kindergarten children need more social interaction to train their language and their basic knowledge. Online learning is not an ideal way to teach,” she said. “The sudden suspension of class is definitely not good since young children are forgetful and should constantly review concepts to consolidate their knowledge.” Joseph Law Kin-dat, a primary school teacher, said the sudden change of schedule affects students’ academic performance. “We can’t look after them outside school.oSome of them are unable to study on their own during the holidays,” said Law. “The only thing we can do is to leave the important lessons for now and teach them after the Easter holiday. Hopefully face-to-face classes will be allowed by then,” he said.

Jeffrey Andrews is Hong Kong’s first ethnic minority candidate to run for the city’s Legislative Council. When he and his wife tried to rent an apartment in To Kwa Wan last month, he ran into an upsetting situation. "Many agents don't want to rent to me because they say we cook curry and we smell," said Andrews.  Hong Kong, “Asia’s world city,” has always been home to ethnic minorities from South Asia. However, many renters of Indian, Pakistani, Nepalese, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan heritage reportedly feel stigmatised and often rejected by housing agents and landlords. Andrews, 36, of Indian descent, is a manager at Christian Action Centre for Refugees. He was born and raised in Hong Kong. Andrews said as soon as the prospective agent saw him in person, his face dropped. After consulting the landlord, Andrews was asked to pay 12 months’ rent and two months' deposit up front.  "I made a phone call to another agent, and I spoke in fluent Cantonese. He said ‘Okay, come to the agency,’ but the moment he saw me, he said the apartment was no longer available," Andrews said.  According to the Estate Agents Authority’s guide to tenancy, a landlord should require tenants to pay one to three months’ deposit upfront upon signing a rental contract for an apartment. Sum Hui is the owner of United Company, a property agency in To Kwa Wan which has been operating for 40 years. Hui works with over 70 landlords, providing rental services to ethnic minorities and asylum seekers. "Asking for more money than usual and requesting unnecessary proof of documentation is indirectly rejecting ethnic minorities and there are no consequences," said Hui.  Hui said in his experience, around 70% of landlords refuse to rent to ethnic minorities. "Some landlords think because of the language …

At least 113 mainland students from seven Hong Kong universities were threatened with eviction notices on March 2, The Young Reporter  has found. The students rent accommodation from Gang Piao Jia Management Limited, a Shenzhen-based housing agency that provides services to mainland students studying in Hong Kong.  Its mode of operation is renting apartments from landlords and then re-renting them to students. The Estate Agency Authority of Hong Kong said in its reply to students that Gang Piao Jia and companies related to it are not on the licence list.  The students received the eviction notices via text messages on WeChat from staff members of Gang Piao Jia. One staff member, under the name Xiao Cute Cute, messaged students that “there is a shortage of medical facilities in Hong Kong and many people who have tested positive [for Covid-19] cannot be quarantined at home. Gang Piao Jia has decided to change the use of some of their flats so that people who have tested positive or their close contacts can quarantine there. The students therefore need to move to other low risk accommodation.” Most of the students paid for an entire year’s rent in August last year and have housing contracts until August this year. “I am nervous and mentally tired because I am in the midterm of my semester,” said Nana, a Hong Kong University of Science and Technology student, who only wants to be known as this name. Nana moved into her flat in Residence Oasis Club House in Sai Kung in August last year, signing a 12-month rental contract. She also received the March 2 notice telling her to move, despite having five months left in her lease.  “It’s really hard to connect with the staff at Gang Piao Jia. They usually just give meaningless answers in the …

On a sunny day before Omicron hit Hong Kong, people went about their business as usual, heading outside to meet with friends and family. However, Lilian Wong Ling-yi, a 48-year-old housewife, stayed home to help her son Nolan with his homework. Wong would often repeat the homework content over and over, patiently and gently. Nolan, 13, a student with special needs, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, is studying in a mainstream school. Wong said she was sad when the clinical psychologist told her that Nolan had ASD but she understood that first and foremost, she must locate an organisation that could assist her. “A private sector had done training to assist him with the development of his sensory integration and coordination, and interpretation of his feelings but I think it’s not really effective as the training time is too short and it costs too much,” she said. “During the pandemic, Nolan cannot concentrate on online lessons since he, as an ASD student, can hardly focus on electronic devices for lengthy periods as he feels bored. He explores other websites instead of listening to teachers, which makes his learning hard to make progress,” she added. Children have been taking online classes on and off for the last two years during the pandemic, which has brought social and learning difficulties, especially affecting pupils with special education needs. Peer contact and social relationships have been severely restricted because of pandemic. Given the importance of peer contact for well-being and self-esteem, this can have a negative impact on children's social activity as less social contact is especially critical for SEN students, who often struggle to be accepted or integrated into society, according to a British Journal of Educational Psychology. The term "special education needs” reflects the broad and diversified group of children and teenagers …