As the principal of the Hong Kong Sea School contemplates his retirement after six years at the helm, one thing in particular has given him great personal satisfaction - his success in reviving the school's dwindling numbers.
Douglas Tsui Yiu-kwong, 58, leaves the all-boys boarding school this month to become a house-husband, a long-held ambition.
Mr Tsui arrived at the school in 1999 after a 30-year career in the police force, during which time he reached the rank of chief superintendent, was a founder and deputy commandant of the Police Cadet School, and later served as deputy commandant of the Police Training School.
But two years after taking early retirement from the force, the principal's job was far from being easy or straightforward. Mr Tsui faced a dropping roll, and staff and management problems.
The main problem was the nature of the Sea School itself. It had the negative image of a practical school that offered vocational training for low achievers.
'I could see the problem had reached crisis level because recruitment of students had virtually dried up,' Mr Tsui recalls.
Established in 1946, it initially provided education for underprivileged children and helped supply labour for Hong Kong's maritime industry. It was turned into a practical school in 1993 and a mainstream school in 2001.
