School hosts parents to bolster bid for Pegasus
One of the 20 groups that have applied to take over the embattled Pegasus school in Yau Tong has stepped up its lobbying effort, with an open day yesterday for parents of Pegasus students. Fukien Secondary School also says it will invest some HK$10 million to run the Pegasus school if it wins the takeover bid.
Parents and students from Pegasus were invited by the school to see for themselves the facilities of the campus in Ngau Tau Kok. School officials also outlined to parents the takeover proposals the school has submitted to the Education Bureau.
At a seminar, principal Lam Kin-wah said the special open day was aimed at giving parents a better understanding of the school and how it had been performing.
'The core stakeholder and the most important party in the Pegasus school is the parents and students, whose views we should value,' said Dr Lam, a Kwun Tong district councillor and also the chairman of the Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council.
Fukien Secondary School was founded by the Fukien Chamber of Commerce in 1951 and is a Direct Subsidy Scheme school.
Dr Lam said he was pleased many of the 190 parents and students who showed up at yesterday's open day expressed support for the school's bid to take on the Pegasus school.
In an abrupt move last month, the sponsoring body of the Pegasus Philip Wong Kin Hang Christian Primary School cum Junior Secondary School announced it would give up the right to operate the school. The announcement came amid allegations of maladministration by the school's supervisor, Carman Leung.
The bureau demanded the organisation relinquish operation of the school by July 14.
Dr Lam also promised to employ the Pegasus teachers under similar pay packages if the school won the takeover bid.
The Education Bureau said it had received detailed takeover proposals from 20 groups.
The bureau is expected to announce the winning bid around the middle of next month.
Daisy Fung, whose daughter is in Primary One at the Pegasus school, said after visiting the Fukien school that she hoped its bid would win.
'I am not too worried about the change in the school management. After all the recent news about Pegasus, maybe it is a good thing for the school to have a new management,' Mrs Fung said.
Peter Ho, whose son is in Form Two at Pegasus, said he was impressed by the Fukien school's modern facilities. 'The most important thing is that my son can have a smooth transition and can continue in Form Three,' Mr Ho said.
Some parents expressed concerns at the heavier workload at the Fukien school. A Mr Leung said: 'I appreciate there might be some changes, but I don't want the change to be too big. After all, happy learning is a major principle at Pegasus.'
