Members' concerns primarily focused on the underlying factors leading to the poverty problems faced by the EM households, such as employment difficulties, language and education barriers.
The Chinese language requirement in the recruitment of civil servants was considered to be a hurdle for EMs.
p11. Education and language barriers: Some Members felt that the Government should take measures to promote "upward social mobility of EMs", by improving the proficiency of their Chinese language... to address the issue of low attainment of the EM students in Chinese language examination, it was suggested that alternative admission criteria, in particular the Chinese proficiency requirement, be applied for non-Chinese speaking students to enrol on local education institutions.
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