Worry Over Plan To Count Masked Students At School

Education sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen has voiced concern after the Education Bureau asked secondary schools to inform it how many students wear masks to school or hold protests or boycotts school on Tuesday - the first day of classes since the mask ban came into force.

The head of the Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools, Teddy Tang, said he thinks the bureau is just trying to get an accurate idea of the situation, and schools don't have to supply students' names.

However Ip said the request is totally unnecessary.

"When students wear masks most of them are for health reasons. So if it for health reasons why is the EDB going to collect them?

"If it is considered to be out of political reasons, so is it that the government is collecting data of a political nature, and what is it going to do with it? They stress from time-to-time 'don't bring political factors into school', he said. "I think the government should try to avoid such an impression."

In a statement, the Education Bureau said it has always been in contact with schools since the start of the term so as to get an idea of what is going on. It said no personal data would be collected.