66 primary schools at risk of closure for failing to attract students
The threat of closure hangs over 66 primary schools next year as they have failed to attract enough students for more than a single Primary One class, figures released yesterday by the Education Bureau show.
The number - which accounts for just under 15 per cent of the 461 government and aided schools taking part in the central Primary One admissions procedure for next year - suggests primary schools are not entirely in the clear following years of declining student numbers.
The figures were revealed by a South China Morning Post analysis of the primary school profiles released yesterday for parents whose children are due to enter Primary One next September.
Primary One applications for next year are open to children born on or before December 31, 2003 - when the annual number of births hit a record low of 47,000, down from 71,600 in 1994.
However, some leading principals say the risk of closure will be reduced next year, when small-class teaching will be introduced in almost two-thirds of primary schools.
'The effect of this, added with a cap on Primary One class sizes, means that for every five classes there will be an extra class next year,' said Alex Cheung Chi-hung, chairman of the Aided Primary School Heads' Council. 'The minimum admission this year was 21 but it will be just 16 next year, so I doubt there will be many schools that fail to reach that number.'
William Lee Siu-hok, chairman of the Hong Kong Primary Education Research Association, agreed there was less chance of closures but said there was no room for complacency.
