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.

     â€‹As the Heat Stress at Work Warning is now in effect, the Labour Department (LD) reminds employers and employees to take appropriate measures during the effective period of the warning to prevent heat stroke when working in hot weather or hot environments.
      
     Employees who work outdoors or in non-air-conditioned indoor environments face high levels of heat stress and are at a relatively higher risk of heat stroke. Employers should assess the risk factors of heat stress for employees at work and, based on the identified risk factors, take necessary preventive and control measures, including rescheduling work periods, setting up shading covers, providing ventilation and heat dissipation equipment, and reminding employees to replenish water and rest in a timely manner.
      
     The Heat Stress at Work Warning is formulated by the LD based on the Hong Kong Heat Index. There are three levels of the warning: Amber, Red and Black, which help employers and employees better understand the level of heat stress while working outdoors or indoors without air-conditioning systems.
      
     A spokesman for the LD said that when the department issues the Heat Stress at Work Warning, employers must refer to the criteria and recommendations provided in the "Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work" to conduct risk assessments, according to the workloads and other relevant heat stress risk factors, for employees who work outdoors or in non-air-conditioned indoor workplaces. Appropriate rest breaks should be arranged every hour, as far as reasonably practicable, based on various levels of the Heat Stress at Work Warning, to reduce employees' risk of heat stroke.
      
     Employees must also follow instructions to rest on time. Whenever there are any symptoms of heat-related illnesses, such as headache, dizziness, thirst, and nausea, they should rest in a cool and shady place, drink water, and inform employers/supervisors to take appropriate action immediately.
      
     The LD issued the "Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work", detailing the various risk factors that should be considered when conducting heat stress risk assessments and recommending corresponding control measures for identified risk factors for employers' and employees' reference. For the Heat Stress at Work Warning and related guidelines, please refer to the department's thematic webpage: www.labour.gov.hk/eng/news/prevention_of_heat_stroke_at_work.htm.

The following is issued on behalf of the Secretariat of the Beat Drugs Fund Association:
 
     The Beat Drugs Fund (BDF) Regular Funding Scheme (RFS) is inviting applications for the 2024 Funding Exercise from today (August 29) until September 26.
      
     The BDF RFS aims to promote worthwhile anti-drug projects that can help address drug problems. For the 2024 Funding Exercise of the RFS, projects meeting one or multiple priority areas (in Annex) for treatment and rehabilitation, preventive education and publicity, and research will be accorded priority.
      
     The application form and guide for applicants for the 2024 Funding Exercise of the BDF RFS are available on the website of the Narcotics Division (ND) of the Security Bureau (www.nd.gov.hk/en/beat_drug_fund_2024.html). The deadline for application is 6pm on September 26. For details of guidelines on the submission of applications, please refer to paragraph 7 of the guide to the 2024 Funding Exercise of the BDF RFS or pages 9 and 10 of the application form.
      
     The BDF will also arrange two briefing and experience sharing sessions on September 3 and 5 for interested applicants. Details can be found on the website of the ND (www.nd.gov.hk/en/beat_briefing_experience_sharing_sessions.html).Representatives of interested organisations may enrol by providing the required information as set out on the website through email (bdf@sb.gov.hk) to the Secretariat. The Secretariat will inform the successful applicants via email nearer the time.
      
     Enquiries are welcome by telephone at 2867 2769 or 2867 2286; or via email to bdf@sb.gov.hk.
      
     Results of applications for the 2024 Funding Exercise are expected to be announced in the first quarter of 2025.

     The "Quarterly Report on General Household Survey" for April to June 2024 is now available for access and download.
 
     The report contains statistics on labour force, employment, unemployment and underemployment for the second quarter of 2024. It also contains detailed analyses of the characteristics of different categories of members of the labour force, including their age, sex, educational attainment, employment status, occupation, industry, hours worked per week and monthly employment earnings, etc. Information on duration of unemployment for the unemployed is also presented.
 
     Users can browse and download the report at the website of the Census and Statistics Department (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1050001&scode=200).
 
     The summary of broad survey findings published in the report is shown in Table 1 attached. Enquiries about the contents of the report can be directed to the General Household Survey Section (3), Census and Statistics Department (Tel: 2887 5508 or email: ghs@censtatd.gov.hk).

     The Government announced today (August 29) that the eight temporary JoyYou Card application service centres will operate until September 8 (Sunday). The daily opening hours (including Saturday and Sunday) of the service centres are from 9am to 8pm. The locations of the centres are as follows:
 

• Conference Room, 2/F, Kennedy Town Community Complex (12 Rock Hill Street, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong);
• Conference Room, G/F, Leighton Hill Community Hall (133 Wong Nai Chung Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong);
• Room 210, 2/F, Wong Tai Sin Community Centre (104 Ching Tak Street, Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon);
• Conference Room, Mong Kok Community Hall, L2, Mong Kok Complex (557 Shanghai Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon);
• Conference Room, G/F, Tai Yuen Community Hall (Tai Yuen Estate, Tai Po, New Territories);
• Conference Room, 4/F, North District Community Centre (2 Lung Wan Street, Sheung Shui, New Territories);
• Activity Room, G/F, Kwai Fong Community Hall (2 Lai Fong Street, Kwai Chung, New Territories); and
• Conference Room, G/F, Long Ping Community Hall (Long Ping Estate, Yuen Long, New Territories).

     Eligible beneficiaries of the Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities can continue to submit JoyYou Card applications by post or via the Octopus App. The details can be found on the JoyYou Card website (www.octopus.com.hk/joyyou/en) or by calling the JoyYou Card Application Service Hotline 3147 1388 (press 0 after choosing the language to contact operators directly).