The shortage of building land has been one of the main components in Hong Kong's perennial education problems. Schools which are bursting at the seams often cannot extend their premises because they are tucked into a tiny corner of the city, surrounded on all sides by other buildings, yet expected to absorb a growing population of children.
The solution to the problem which has been offered to St Rose of Lima's School is not ideal, but there are not many other options available.
Parents and pupils cannot be expected to welcome the prospect of a move from Kowloon to Sha Tin from a practical point of view, but there is no reason why the academic record of the school should be affected, provided the traditions that have made it so successful remain the same.
It would be unfortunate, then, if co-education was imposed against the wishes of parents and teachers, merely because a move to new premises is necessary. Mixed schooling is a perfectly reasonable arrangement when a new school is just beginning, but a different matter for an institution which has an established reputation and has evolved its own traditions and ethos over half a century.
Changing to co-education will alter the atmosphere of the place, and that could prove doubly unsettling to pupils who have enough to do in adjusting to changed surroundings and coping with extra distance - particularly when many children will be making the switch during a crucial academic year when they have important exams ahead. The Education Department should be prepared to be flexible under these circumstances.
Parents who threaten to send children elsewhere may find it difficult to get places in English speaking schools, now that mother-tongue teaching predominates. It would be sad for all concerned if a sense of resentment hung over the new premises. With more room and full day schooling, St Rose could profit from the move, provided the wishes of parents and educators are taken into account.
