Village schools face closure

Kamana
Damai (middle) is happy to study with friends at Yuen Long Small Traders
New Village Public School.(Bernice Ha)
By Eunice
Ho
Despite
support from parents and students, some village schools will soon have
to close down.
Village
schools are those that are located in villages in the New Territories
and Cheung Chau.
Maggie
Yiu, whose son and daughter are students at Pat Heung Central Primary
School in Yuen Long, insisted on sending her children to the village
school.
“Given
a smaller class size, teachers can take care of my children better.
“The
space for activities is larger. There are also enough facilities. For
example, there are swings on the playground.
“The
environment is also good. My children can get close to flowers and plants,”
said Ms. Yiu.
Lok Lai
Fong, principal of Yuen Long Small Traders New Village Public School,
said, “Some parents have already sent their elder sons or daughters
to the school. They want their siblings to study at the same school.”
Not only
local children choose to attend village schools, but children of other
nationalities, such as Pakistanis and Nepalese, do so, too.
Ms. Lok
said, “Many Southeast Asians settle in Yuen Long. Because our
school is located in Yuen Long, there are many Southeast Asian students
in our school.”
Though
many other Nepalese and Pakistani children go to Islamic Primary School
in Tuen Mun, Chan Pun Man, the principal of Wa Fung School in Yuen Long
said, “Some parents prefer our school since the kids may have
religious conflicts with schoolmates there.”
Rohit Thapa,
a Nepalese student at Yuen Long Small Traders New Village Public School,
said, “I like my school and my classmates are nice. We get along
well.”
Even though
there is support from parents and students, some village schools still
have had to close Primary 1 classes this school year.
Janet Lam,
information officer in the Education and Manpower Bureau, said parents
generally prefer not to send their children to village schools.
“The
popularity of village schools has declined sharply,” she said.
According
to Ms. Lam, 51 schools will not have any Primary 1 classes this school
year. Of them, 33 are in rural areas and 18 are in urban areas.
One reason
for the closure of Primary 1 classes in village schools is a change
in education policy.
The criterion
for operating a Primary 1 class this year has changed from at least
16 students to 23 students.
Another
reason was the setting of a cut-off date for the admission of Primary
1 students by the government. It was on 9 March 2003. Late applications
are not counted.
Because
of the change, there is no Primary 1 class at Yuen Long Small Traders
New Village Public School and Wa Fung School.
Ms. Lok
said, “In fact, my school accepted 31 Primary 1 student applications
this academic year.
“But
they applied after the cut-off date. So the Education and Manpower Bureau
informed the parents and arranged the students to study in other schools.”
Wong Sheng
Man, former principal and English teacher of Wa Fung School, said, “My
school admitted 17 students before 9 March and 60 up to June. But since
there is a cut-off date, no Primary 1 class can be opened for them.”
Regarding
the change, Ms. Lam of the Education and Manpower Bureau said, “There
is a need to set up a definite cut-off date in order to avoid uncertainty
in the number of classes that a school operates.”
Ms. Lok,
principal of Yuen Long Small Traders New Village School, understands
the policy but is still upset.
She said,
“I understand that the reason behind the policy is to raise the
quality of education. But I feel really sorry and disappointed in the
way they handled it.”
Ms. Lam
defended the policy by saying, “Our policy is to consolidate under-utilized
schools, whether they are rural or urban. This is because of the surplus
primary school places and declining student population.
“This
action was taken in response to the Legislative Council Public Accounts
Committee’s request that the government should address the problem
of surplus school places.
“If
under-utilized schools, both in rural and in urban areas, are phased
out by the school year 2006/2007, there would be an annual recurrent
saving of about $370 million.
“This
saving can be put on other essential uses in education. This is to ensure
that public resources are used effectively.”
The cost
of running a village school is not as high as described by the Education
and Manpower Bureau.
Jade Kong,
spokesperson for the Alliance for the Parents of Rural Schools, said,
“There is no building cost and no need to pay any rates. The land
and the school buildings are both donated. So, there is no cost involved.
Why doesn’t the government utilize the existing resources?”
Adding
further, Ms. Kong said, “On one hand, the government said that
there is a declining student population. Yet, on the other hand, there
are five new primary schools being constructed in Yuen Long.
“It
is a waste of resources. It is also a discrimination towards small schools
like ours.”
The government
says it doubts the village schools’ ability to provide a broad
and balanced curriculum for students.
Ms. Lam
said, “Village schools have sub-standard facilities for teaching
and learning. They also have difficulties in recruiting and retaining
qualified and experienced teachers.”
She said
that these would have adverse effects on the personal development of
students.
Ms. Kong
disagreed and said the facilities in village schools are adequate since
the number of students is smaller.
There is
a computer room, a playground, and a library corner in Yuen Long Small
Traders Village Public School.
Wa Fung
School has two playgrounds, a computer room, and a music room.
The qualification
of the teachers is not sub-standard.
Most of
the teachers have diplomas in education, and two teachers in Yuen Long
Small Traders New Village Public School even have master’s degrees.
The ability
of students in village schools is no worse than those in other schools.
Ms. Kong said, “Most of our graduates get good grades in secondary
schools. They perform well in academic studies as well as in extra-curricular
activities.”
Ben Cheung,
a graduate of Wa Fung School, said, “I can apply what I learnt
from the school in my studies in Germany.
Although
village schools will close down in 3 years, they are not giving up.
Mr. Chan
of Wa Fung School has suggested merging the school with Yuen Long Small
Traders
New Village Public School to avoid closing down.
“However,
the Education and Manpower Bureau refuses to do so,” he lamented.

Students at Yuen Long Small Traders New Village Public School
enjoy playing board games on the school playground after lessons. (Bernice
Ha)
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