Educators Urge Caution On School Closures

Education professionals have urged the government to take a cautious approach and assess the situation on the ground before moving to close or relocate schools amid an expected decrease in the number of pupils.

In a paper submitted to the Legislative Council's panel on education, the administration noted a decrease of 5.9 percent in primary school enrollment and 3.8 percent in secondary schools compared to last year. It cited movement into and out of Hong Kong as one factor, as well as pupils moving to private, international and direct subsidy scheme schools.

The government noted projections from the Census and Statistics Department of a further decrease in the school-age population, a trend it said was likely to be structural rather than transient. It has proposed ceasing the operation of some schools and relocating others in areas of low demand to places where the population will increase.

Speaking on RTHK's Backchat programme on Friday, Mervyn Cheung, chairman of the Hong Kong Education Policy Concern Organisation, said a drop in the number of pupils around 2000 had seen the closure of many primary schools, leading to problems in accommodating a rising number of pupils in recent years.

He said officials should keep staffing at current levels for three years before reviewing the situation further.

Chim Hon-ming, principal of Chiu Sheung School and chairman of the Council of Central and Western District School Heads, echoed those concerns.

"We don't have a crystal ball," he said. "We cannot foresee whether it is an increase or decrease in the near future.

"So, if we just use this simplest way to close the schools, I'm afraid that, if the number of students increases suddenly in the next ten years, how can we find enough classrooms for the students?"