School passes the popularity test
Buddhist Fat Ho Memorial College has seen off the threat of closure and is looking at expansion
Once threatened with closure, a Buddhist secondary school in a remote corner of Lantau Island is now looking at taking over an abandoned campus to cope with its overflowing classrooms.
In 2009, Buddhist Fat Ho Memorial College in Tai O had fewer than 300 pupils and was almost shut down by the government because it could not meet admission targets. Instead, that year it switched to the direct subsidy system, which allows it to charge fees and create its own curriculum, and it has not looked back.
It is one of four direct subsidy schools supporting ethnic minority children and now has over 400 pupils, despite its location on the westernmost tip of Lantau. Non-Chinese pupils make up about a third of its numbers.
It is considering applying for the old Heung Yee Kuk secondary school in Mui Wo which has lain empty since 2007. The building would become its English-language school, while Chinese-language teaching would be concentrated at Tai O.
An application would pit the school against the Christian Zheng Sheng College - the school dedicated to helping reform young drug offenders which has been trying to relocate to the Mui Wo building since 2009 in the face of strong local opposition.
Fat Ho principal Eric Yuon Fuk-lung says his school has to house 18 classes in 14 classrooms and is planning to buy six shipping containers to convert into activity rooms.
He said: "The overall population on the outlying islands has been dropping, but the population in our school has been increasing. When we reach our maximum capacity, we might have to stop admitting more pupils. But I believe we'll do better and better."