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St. Peters Secondary School at Aberdeen. Since the completion of its extension, the school has been seeking vigorously to further upgrade its infrastructure, and has submitted plans to the government for its relocation to a new school site nearby. Photo: Sam Tsang
Alex Loin Toronto

In an extreme senior moment, I once unconsciously held my mobile phone in hand while searching all over my bedroom for it.

I wonder if our chief executive is doing the same.

Leung Chun-ying has been searching high and low for more land to redevelop and build more housing.

All the while, his administration is sitting on hectares of unused land currently occupied by 105 empty or abandoned schools scattered across the city.

Thanks to the Director of Audit, we now know that nearly half of 234 school premises vacated in recent years sit idle and decaying with no plan in place for redevelopment. The 105 vacant premises include 29 empty school lots still held by the Education Bureau that have not been returned to the government for alternative land uses.

Eight of the 29 school lots have not even been earmarked for any use. Three, forgotten for more than a decade, have been left to rot.

No doubt the Education Bureau bears substantial responsibility for this monumental neglect.

Alex Lo
Alex Lo has been a Post columnist since 2012, covering major issues affecting Hong Kong and the rest of China. A journalist for 25 years, he has worked for various publications in Hong Kong and Toronto as a news reporter and editor. He has also lectured in journalism at the University of Hong Kong.
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