Rejected schools will be treated like outcasts

My secondary school, St Louis, is one of the most famous schools in West Point. When I learned that it had not been selected to retain English as the medium of instruction, I was disappointed. How did the Education Department judge the schools? Do readers really believe that the 24 schools which must now teach in Chinese were treated fairly? Another school founded by the Salesian Catholic order also failed in its application to retain English as the medium of instruction. This decision will cause problems for our school. The perception of many people will be that a school that has failed in its application is not a good learning institution. Parents will not let their children study in such a school. It also raises questions about the concept of freedom. Does it exist in Hong Kong? We are told Hong Kong is a free society. If it really was, then the Education Department would have let individual schools decide and this would have meant we would have continued to use English. Did the department ask the parents of students in the 24 schools, or the principals and teachers? I would like to be able to ask permission from the Education Department to teach lessons in English, but I know my request will fall on deaf ears.

RAYMOND SIU WAH MAN Kowloon