A lawmaker on Thursday called on the government to set up a student dormitory licensing system, after media reports alleged that a mainland organisation is operating such a facility without authorisation.

The group – Gleam Haven – marketed itself as a trilingual secondary school, located at 101 Waterloo Road in Kowloon Tong, that offers 60 beds for students who have just arrived in Hong Kong.

Education sector legislator Tang Fei told RTHK that the closest thing to a student dormitory licence is a bedspace apartment licence.

But, noting that many newly-arrived students are not adults, he pointed out that bedspace licences have no guidelines on supporting measures, such as whether or not guests have to have guardians.

"Can we set up a student dormitory licence or boarding licence? Certainly, it will be different from those in mainstream schools," he said.

"But we can reference them, such as the student-teacher ratio for a housemaster, and whether there is a need for a social worker. This is worth looking into, and stepping up legislation."

He went on to say that the government should offer unified licensing to save applicants' time, and believed demand for such services will go up under the "Study in Hong Kong" brand.

Shang Hailong, the founding president of the Hong Kong Top Talent Services Association told the same programme that he is concerned about the students' safety as he suspected there are unauthorised works at the Gleam Haven site.

He suggested the government should offer more guidelines – such as by taking reference to the hardware requirements similar to those for guesthouses or basic housing units – to schools that wish to set up dormitories for students from outside the territory.

The Buildings Department told RTHK that it has found existing and newly built unauthorised structures at the site's courtyard, but they pose no immediate danger.

It said a removal notice has been issued to the owners, adding that it will follow up on enforcement actions.


Edited by Aaron Tam