A spokesman for the Education Bureau (EDB) said today (August 29) that all Hong Kong children born on or before December 31, 2019, are eligible to join the Primary One Admission (POA) System for admission to Primary One (P1) in September 2025, provided they have not attended any primary schools and have never been allocated a P1 place.
Digitalisation of POA
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In line with the Smart Government strategy, the EDB has fully digitalised POA. Parents who have registered as POA e-platform (ePOA) users and bound their accounts to "iAM Smart+" may submit applications and check the results for discretionary places and Central Allocation online via ePOA. The EDB encourages parents to register with "iAM Smart+" (www.iamsmart.gov.hk/en/reg.html) as early as possible for more convenient and faster P1 school place allocation services.
Submission of applications for discretionary places
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At the Discretionary Places Admission stage, the school chosen is not restricted to the school net in which the child resides. Parents who wish to apply for a POA discretionary place in a government or aided primary school should submit an application via ePOA (epoa.edb.gov.hk) from September 19 to 27. Please refer to the related videos and Parent's Guide on the EDB website (www.edb.gov.hk/en/edu-system/primary-secondary/spa-systems/primary-1-admission/poa_eplatform/index.html) for details of the procedures for creating an ePOA account and submitting applications for discretionary places via ePOA.
If parents choose to submit paper application forms, they may obtain the Application Form for Admission to Primary One, Notes on How to Complete the Application Form for Admission to Primary One, POA information leaflet, etc, from their children's kindergartens or kindergarten-cum-child care centres, District Offices (Home Affairs Enquiry Centres), and the Regional Education Offices and School Places Allocation Section of the EDB from next Monday (September 2). They should submit the completed application form together with all supporting documents directly to the school during school office hours between September 23 and 27. Parents who are unable to submit the application form in person may authorise in writing a representative to bring along the above-mentioned documents to the school on their behalf.
The spokesman reminded that irrespective of whether the application is submitted via ePOA or in paper form, parents should submit only one application for their child. If parents have applied to more than one government or aided primary school, their application for a POA discretionary place would be rendered void. In addition, parents should not submit duplicate applications via ePOA and in paper form for the same child. Parents who wish to enrol their children in Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) primary schools or private primary schools (including international schools) should apply directly to those schools as they are not included in the POA System. Parents should also note that children who have accepted the offer of P1 places in DSS primary schools would not be allocated P1 places in government or aided primary schools through the POA System.
Application for Central Allocation only
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If parents are applying only for the POA Central Allocation, they should submit an application to the EDB via ePOA or in paper form on or before January 17, 2025. For submission of paper forms, they should return the completed application form and supporting documents to the School Places Allocation Section (Primary One Admission) of the EDB at Podium Floor, West Block, Education Bureau Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre, 19 Suffolk Road, Kowloon Tong.
Residential address
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"When completing the POA Application Form, parents should fill in the actual residential address of their child. If a false address is given by parents to secure a P1 place for their child under the POA System, the application would be rendered void and the P1 place allocated would be withdrawn. If a false instrument has been used or a false statutory declaration has been made in the application, the offender is liable on conviction to imprisonment for 14 years or imprisonment for two years and to a fine respectively under the Crimes Ordinance. Suspected cases of using a false address for POA applications may be reported to the School Places Allocation Section by calling its hotline at 2832 7700," the EDB spokesman said.
Enquiries
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The information leaflet for POA 2025 is available on the EDB's website for parents' reference. Other details of POA and the discretionary places quota of each school will be available from next Monday (September 2) on the EDB's website and 24-hour Automatic Telephone Enquiry System at 2891 0088.
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