Closing struggling Hong Kong schools ‘spares parents from future problems’

Closing struggling Hong Kong schools in the short term will prevent future problems for parents, the Education Minister has said, warning that the city has already exhausted all mitigation measures to reduce the impact of the shrinking pupil population.Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin said on Wednesday that the problem of under-enrolment remained unresolved despite authorities having resorted to different “soft-landing” means to support the sector in response to the structural population decline.“There is no way around the current situation,” she told a radio show.Choi was referring to the announcement that 15 local public primary schools were not approved to operate subsidised Primary One classes in the coming academic year due to insufficient enrolment.The schools, which admitted fewer than 16 Primary One students each, have opted to merge with other institutions or operate the classes on a self-financing basis. They may also face total closure after three years if their survival plans are not approved.“We need to break through old ways of thinking for the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s education,” Choi said.