Why are the city's abandoned school sites being left idle for years?
It doesn't take much of an education to realise that abandoned school sites should be repurposed rather than left idle for years
In the two years since St Joseph's Anglo-Chinese School moved to a new campus in Kowloon's New Clear Water Bay Road, the school's old buildings in Choi Hung have become popular hang-outs for young hooligans.
The abandoned school, with its atmosphere of neglect and graffiti covered walls, is also among several frequented by Urban Fragment - a group of photography buffs who explore deserted sites around town.
Vacated schools have become war-game zones, littered with plastic BB pellets
"Some village schools have become war-game zones, with plastic pellets [from BB guns] scattered across the grounds. Others are used as barbecue sites," says Tony, an amateur photographer organising the visits. "{Vacated schools in} city areas are not spared either. Chi Tak Public School in Wong Tai Sin district has been occupied by squatters, each hogging their own classroom."
Other school buildings have similarly been left idle, some for as long as eight years. According to the Education Bureau, 106 school premises were left vacant after the government began its drive in 2003 to close schools with insufficient enrolment. Yet just 53 of the vacated sites have been repurposed, while 47 have yet to be used, even though they are designated for residential, educational or GIC (government, institution or community) purposes. The development potential of the remaining six sites has yet to be determined.
Legislator Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, who teaches social policy and administration at Polytechnic University, says the government should speed up the process of converting vacated school sites. "Not all vacant schools are in inaccessible or remote areas. Some are located near public housing estates, have good infrastructure and are within access of a big community. It's unacceptable to take several years to put them to better use," Cheung says.