Opinion | Height restriction for school premises protects children's safety
Kelly Yang says there are better ways to help schools facing rising rents than by doing away with a height restriction needed for safety reasons
Education Secretary Eddie Ng Hak-kim said last week that the bureau is reconsidering a requirement that schools and kindergartens be located no higher than 24 metres above ground, in an effort to tackle the problem of soaring rents for schools.
The current limit means a school can be housed no higher than the sixth floor of a building. Lifting this ban may not seem like a big deal but it should be of colossal importance to every parent, child or teacher in Hong Kong.
The move comes at a time when kindergartens increasingly face eviction by rapacious landlords. Just last month, Topkids International Preschool was priced out of its premises in Tin Shui Wai.
As a school principal, I know first-hand the problem of soaring rent and the crippling effect it can have on schools. High rents affect any business, but since schools need to have their premises licensed by the Education Bureau, they have even less mobility, and thus less bargaining power in lease negotiations.
Currently, for schools and preschools, trying to secure commercial and retail office space at a reasonable price in Hong Kong that also happens to be on or below the sixth floor is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Yet taking away the 24-metre restriction will open another, much worse, can of worms. It will undermine children's safety, and that is a problem far more frightening than soaring rents.