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May Chan

The government's proposal to cancel or suspend 22 school building projects is on hold because of opposition from legislators, parents and schools.

The Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB) had proposed delaying or scrapping  22 of its 41 school projects  because of a sharp decline in student numbers overall.

Eight primary schools would not be able to switch to whole-day schooling by 2008, and only one of the seven pending direct subsidy scheme school projects would proceed.

Out of the 19 school construction plans to proceed under the proposal, only six are for re-development and re-provisioning of schools. Eight aided or government primary schools would be built.

This would save  more than $2 billion in construction costs, $120 million in non-recurrent expenditure, and $13 million in annual recurrent expenditure.

However, in an education panel meeting earlier this week, Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, Secretary for Education and Manpower, was forced to withdraw the proposal as legislators queried the rationale behind it.

Legislator Cheung Man-kwong, also president of the Professional Teachers' Union (PTU), said the government failed to justify its suggestion to continue building schools in districts with a surplus of school places, while halting school construction projects in districts where places were short.

'The government needs to look into the matter case by case, district by district,' Mr Cheung said.

Professor Li said  surplus schools places were due mainly to the low enrolment in unpopular schools, and that many 'good schools' were over-subscribed.

'Statistics don't reveal the quality of education,' he said. 'And it's our responsibility to provide enough quality schools to parents.'

But Suen Man-lai, chairperson of the Federation of Parent-Teacher Association of Tuen Mun, opposed  building more schools in the district. With the proposed new primary schools completed, existing surplus primary school places of 29 would increase to 128 by 2009-10.

'We have already got enough good schools in Tuen Mun to choose from,' said Ms Suen.

'It is a waste of money to build new schools - why don't they spend the money on improving the existing schools instead?'

Parents and schools in Yuen Long, on the other hand, were disappointed with government's proposal to suspend and cancel school building projects in the district despite a shortage in primary and secondary places.

Wong Kin-wing, education secretary of the Yuen Long District Council, said the government should proceed with plans to construct three new schools for bi-sessional primary schools in Yuen Long to switch into whole-day operation.

'In that way, we will have more school places, and existing schools may improve their conditions,' Mr Wong said.

'We are short of school places in Yuen Long and Tin Shui wai as all village schools have been shut down,' he said.

The PTU will invite representatives of schools and parents from all districts to discuss the issue.



Planned cuts in school projects on hold