Hard To Identify SEN Students Sooner: Kevin Yeung

Education Secretary Kevin Yeung has rejected a claim that not enough is being done to identify children with special educational needs (SEN) at an early stage.

In its latest report, the Director of Audit said only two-thirds of children with learning difficulties are diagnosed when they are in Primary One or Primary Two, while the rest are older.

The spending watchdog said the government has to step up measures to identify children who need extra help sooner.

But the secretary told a Legco Public Accounts Committee hearing on Monday that very often, the symptoms associated with special needs don't present themselves at a younger age.

The secretary also explained why many government-aided schools still do not have lifts installed to help students with disabilities.

The slow roll-out of lifts has come in for criticism by the auditor and lawmakers.

But Yeung said it is not always easy to install lifts in schools because there are technical challenges, including space constraints.