Recently, the proposal to allow mainland senior secondary students to seek education opportunities in the SAR has attracted a good deal of attention here.

    Last week Chief Executive Donald Tsang said in his policy address: "Looking forward, we will explore the possibility of allowing mainland senior secondary students to study in Hong Kong. For example, we may allow them to take short-term courses offered by our degree-awarding tertiary institutions, or pursue senior secondary education at non-public schools in Hong Kong".

    If this policy could be put to practice, it would be a breakthrough in Hong Kong-mainland cooperation in the field of education.

    According to government figures, the shortage of primary and secondary students in the city has intensified due to a sustained decrease in the local birth rate.

    Acute competition for students exists among schools as those whose enrolments fail to meet a certain required level would be shut down.

    During the 2008-2009 academic year, 47 secondary schools curtailed a total of 56 classes, more than tripling the number from 2007-2008.

    At the same time, neighboring areas across the border, such as Shenzhen, are experiencing a serious shortage of places in senior secondary schools. It is actually more difficult for students to enter secondary schools than universities there.

    This year, for instance, 51,852 junior secondary school graduates in Shenzhen sat for the public examinations, but the city's senior secondary schools took in only 24,408, meaning more than half of the candidates had to look for other opportunities to further their education.

    Last year, Hong Kong Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre interviewed close to 1,000 primary and secondary students and their parents in Shenzhen about cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen in education.