Editorial | Soft landing essential as schools cut classes
Hong Kong’s shrinking student population calls for decisions that have minimum negative impact and address interests of affected parties
Amid the worrying trend of more schools closing in the wake of a shrinking student population, the beginning of a new academic year offers a reality check on the state of health of local schools. While there appears to be a turnaround in some places, the overall number of classes is still dropping. The education authorities should work closely with stakeholders to provide a soft landing for those affected.
As many as 70 Primary One classes in 66 schools have been scrapped, including four that axed two such classes, according to the latest profiles of 453 public and government-aided schools published by the Committee on Home-School Cooperation.
Currently, the number of Primary One classes schools operate is an important factor when it comes to government funding. Those that fail to enrol at least 16 students cannot run a class and must submit a revival plan to authorities for approval, or eventually shut. Nine schools operate just one Primary One class in the new academic year, while another that failed to meet the enrolment threshold continues without government funding.
On a more positive note, some schools contributed to the addition of 42 classes in the new school year. The net reduction stood at 30 classes, or about half the number of last year’s losses. Enrolment among secondary schools is also said to be stable.
Unlike businesses that have to adapt to a changing market environment, schools have little flexibility in this respect. Meanwhile, Hong Kong is counting on schoolchildren brought in under new talent admission policies to reverse the trend. But it appears arrivals have had a limited impact so far, raising concerns that the worst is yet to come.
It is indeed regrettable if the fate of a school is purely tied to intake numbers. With the student population expected to fall further in coming years, it would not be surprising if more schools cut classes, closed or merged with others. That makes a soft landing for the affected schools, teachers and children all the more important.
