Academic marginalisation of Hong Kong's ethnic minority groups increases amid coronavirus pandemic

Children from ethnic minority groups in Hong Kong have long struggled to learn Cantonese, but a lack of access to computers or the internet during the Covid-19 pandemic is a further obstacle to their studies, according to advocates and parents.

Manoj Dhar, CEO and co-founder of the charity Integrated Brilliant Education Trust - which runs two learning centres in Hong Kong - said these children had been more excluded since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

For many, he said, the problems started early in their lives, as they could not get into good primary schools due to their low Cantonese proficiency - which often led to limited opportunities when they grew up.

"We now have about five years of experience and from what we hear from the parents, it's still challenging and difficult. And their academic marginalisation has only increased. The current crisis adds to the challenges these children face," Dhar said.

"Previously, the language barrier was the main issue. Now it's the language and no [face-to-face] school. How do you motivate and help your child to study when you don't have the internet or an iPad at home? Many kids are suffering because they don't have access to that."

Dhar said the Education Bureau had issued some guidelines, but it was up to schools and educators to decide how to distribute their resources.

"Schools should also be aware of any problems that students' families might have in respect of hardware and internet connection speed," the bureau said in a statement, adding that "there should be thorough consideration and coordination to ensure that students and parents have access to technical support".

Dhar said the two tuition centres he ran had tried over the past eight months to fill in some gaps by having tutors available throughout the day, and helping children and parents to download and complete their homework.

There are about 200 children aged between five and 15 attending the centres. Most are of Nepali descent, followed by Pakistanis and Indonesians.

"We have many parents with humble means who are so committed to educating their children, even though some have lost their jobs," Dhar said. "On our end, we try to be positive and provide solutions."

Manoj Dhar, CEO and co-founder of the Integrated Brilliant Education Centre. Photo: SCMP/Edmond So alt=Manoj Dhar, CEO and co-founder of the Integrated Brilliant Education Centre. Photo: SCMP/Edmond So

After several months of learning from home, the government has decided to start the new academic year online following a third wave of Covid-19 cases. Advocates have warned that the city's poorest are being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, as more than one in four children are believed to live in poverty.

For ethnic minority children from low-income families, the challenges seem even greater. According to official statistics, people from ethnic minority groups account for about 4 per cent of Hong Kong's population, excluding foreign domestic workers. Out of this group, Pakistanis, Indonesians, Thais and Nepalis registered the highest poverty rates.

Amod Rai, a Nepali online teaching consultant, said it was essential to have teachers better trained at delivering online classes. "Teachers need to upgrade their skills on how to deliver content online, while schools should provide resources to help their students," he said.

"Among ethnic minority children, both parents tend to work and have little time. Online learning requires more support and the children need to be motivated. We need to work with the parents so they can understand how to help their kids."

Many parents have struggled to provide support to their children, especially when it comes to learning Chinese. To this end, Maggie Holmes, a consultant with The Zubin Foundation, and three other mothers based in the city recently launched the non-profit Chinese as an Additional Language Hong Kong.

The volunteer-run group is putting together materials and making them available online, including vocabulary lists as well as videos and Chinese poems with English translations, so parents and children can refer to them.

"There is language in the textbooks that the children haven't studied ... and parents often feel very frustrated and helpless," Holmes said. "To some extent the education system assumes you have support at home ... Even native-speaking Chinese families often get private tutors. But if you don't have that, it's easy for the children to fall behind and then it's very hard to catch up."

Holmes said her group was currently working on providing Primary One resources, and that more materials would be uploaded in the coming weeks, including printable copy worksheets of 50 foundational Chinese characters with the translations into Urdu, Hindi, Nepali, Bahasa and English.

Students from ethnic minority groups participating at the Ethnic Minority Children's Forum organised by The Zubin Foundation last year. Photo: Handout alt=Students from ethnic minority groups participating at the Ethnic Minority Children's Forum organised by The Zubin Foundation last year. Photo: Handout

"Many schools use the same textbooks. We hope that teachers will let their students know about these resources. If they feel their students don't have access to Wi-fi or computers, I hope that they will print it out," Holmes said. "We hope our English-language support materials can make Chinese more accessible to a wider number of families."

Meanwhile, a pilot study conducted at the Integrated Brilliant Education Trust learning centres showed that Nepali children scored lower in resilience and positive after-school environments than their South Asian counterparts, highlighting the need for better support structures as well as cultural training for teachers.

"Nepalis scoring lower in resilience is alarming in a way, even though it's a small-scale study," said Gizem Arat, the study's researcher and assistant professor at Lingnan University's department of sociology and Social policy.

Although the Nepali community's lower levels of social integration with mainstream Hong Kong society and low school enrolment have been observed, the report noted that possible ways of promoting resilience had yet to be examined.

"This study depicts that Nepali children could be one of the disadvantaged ethnic groups in Hong Kong," it said, adding that "further attention on resilience-based research and practice is needed to empower the Nepali population".

The study, which was conducted between January and April, included surveys of 67 Nepali and eight non-Nepali students aged between six and 12. More than half the students were born in Hong Kong and have been attending the learning centres for more than three years.

In-depth interviews were also conducted with teachers at the two centres.

The research suggested that workshops about different cultures should be regularly conducted for teachers. "At the same time, ethnic minority children could be equipped with more knowledge about their native culture, which could boost their positive experiences [and] result in resilience," the report said.

Greater involvement from parents and emotional support after school could also enhance resilience, said researcher Arat, who is now hoping to conduct a larger and more sophisticated study in the near future.

Integrated Brilliant Education Trust CEO Dhar said he hoped to grow his charity and reach children at a younger age.

"Our aspiration is setting up a mainstream kindergarten where kids are treated in an inclusive environment and exposed to Cantonese. The language issue can be sorted out at the kindergarten level," he said, adding that he is currently raising funds for the project, which he expects to launch in the next five years.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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