The Catholic Church will only 'passively' submit to school management reform if the bill is passed by lawmakers, Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun said yesterday.
But in a letter to the Legislative Council Bills Committee on education reform, the bishop said it would be irresponsible to pass the bill before some ambiguities had been clarified.
While previous amendments had been patchwork, the change introduced in the new bill was 'revolutionary'.
Bishop Zen, one of the bill's biggest critics, said it would dilute power from the school-sponsoring bodies to individual schools but tighten the government's control.
'It abrogates the intermediary control structures,' he said. 'The new bill may be suitable for some school-sponsoring bodies but not for us. Whether the bill will be passed now or in five years time, we shall adjust ourselves passively.'
His remarks came as the Secretary for Education and Manpower, Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, hit out at opponents of the reform, saying their fears were irrational.
