'Ridiculous To Close Class That's One Pupil Short'

The education sector lawmaker said on Wednesday that it's ridiculous that a school in Cheung Chau has been denied permission to take in primary one pupils for the new academic year, after falling just one short of the 16 children required for a class,

Chu Kwok-keung's comments at an RTHK programme came a day after he met the management committee at the CCC Cheung Chau Church Kam Kong Primary School. He said school officials were surprised by the Education Bureau's move.

According to a circular on Tuesday, the school has set up a crisis team to discuss survival plans. It risks closure if it continues to fail to attract enough pupils.

Chu said the school was considering a self-financed primary one class, which would require funding from parents or the school sponsor, or exercising its right to seek a special review from the Education Bureau. The review would have to rate the school's overall performance as "good" for it to stay afloat.

The legislator said authorities could overcome the problem simply be allocating a pupil from another school, or exercise discretion to ensure schools in remote areas could stay open.

"Cheung Chau is an island, and there are a total of three [primary] schools there, which does not offer a lot of places for pupils," Chu said.

"If the population were to pick up after a few years, would there be too few spots? Would pupils have to take the ferry to urban areas for school? Keeping more school places or one more school could be a safeguard."

On the same programme, Chu Wai-lam, vice-chairman of the New Territories School Heads Association, said education authorities should give schools a buffer to improve their learning environment, if they are falling just one or two pupils short of starting a class.

He added that it would be difficult for schools to pass the review, given the limited time before the current term ends.

In its official blog on Tuesday, the Education Bureau said it was discussing with different sponsoring bodies on possibly closing down, merging or relocating some schools to cope with the structural decline in the territory's pupil population as a result of its falling birth rate.

Last month, a private primary school in Kowloon Tong announced it was closing over the next five years, citing a shortfall in pupil numbers as the population declines.