How a brave Hong Kong principal turned a failing school into an innovative success
At Baptist Rainbow Primary, educator Chu Tsz-wing dropped the exam-oriented approach for a curriculum based on technology and play
Taking over a school on the verge of shutting its doors was a risky career move, but principal Chu Tsz-wing is not a conventional educator. And in the end, his unorthodox administrative style helped turn the ailing institution around.
“We had two options then: one was to let the school close for good and another was to make changes,” Chu, 37, recalled telling the teaching staff on his first day at the helm of Baptist Rainbow Primary School in Wong Tai Sin in the summer of 2013.
Baptist Rainbow, located in a public housing estate, was once one of the city’s biggest primary schools. At its peak, it had 27 classes and 66 teachers.
But when Chu took over as principal, classes were down to six and only 14 teachers were employed. Only five new pupils were enrolled in Primary One at the start of the school year in 2013. The Education Bureau warned in a letter that the government would soon stop subsidising the school and would eventually close it due to its dwindling student numbers.
