Diocese says it will continue to sponsor schools in the territory even if it loses a final appeal against management reforms
The Catholic church has pledged not to pull out of Hong Kong schools even if it loses in a final appeal against school management reforms.
The Court of First Instance on Thursday rejected the church's application for a judicial review of the Education (Amendment) Ordinance 2004 on the grounds that legal protection of religious freedoms did not give schools a veto on public education policy.
The church, the largest school-sponsoring body, had argued that the ordinance, which requires all aided schools to set up incorporated management committees by 2012, breached articles in the Basic Law that protect its rights over the running of schools.
At least 40 per cent of the committees' members need to be independents and elected representatives of parents, teachers and alumni, with the remaining 60 per cent appointed directly by the sponsoring body. The committees will have legal responsibility for running schools.
Head of the diocese, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, said in December last year the church might have to give up running schools if it could not guarantee they would remain true to its Catholic educational philosophy due to the influence of lay members on the committees.
