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Coronavirus: starting classes in March will be challenging, Hong Kong heads say, as schools prepare to cut summer holiday short
- Primary and secondary heads cite lack of face masks and return of 25,000 cross-border pupils
- Exams also under threat with Education Bureau expected to make announcement this week
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The chairman of one of the biggest head teachers’ associations in Hong Kong has said the education sector was preparing for class closures to last beyond March, with the school year likely to be extended into the summer holidays.
Teddy Tang Chun-keung, chairman of the Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools, made his remarks on Tuesday as primary and secondary school heads said a shortage of masks, and accommodating the needs of 25,000 cross-border students, would make returning to school in early March challenging.
To make up for lost teaching time, head teachers the Post spoke to said they would start online teaching and learning as early as this week and had prepared to shorten the summer holiday.
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Educators have also urged the government to delay or cancel the Primary Six exam for secondary school places, set for March, although the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education exams which are two months away should go ahead if possible.
The government first lengthened the Lunar New Year holiday for two weeks from February 3 out of safety concerns following the coronavirus outbreak, and extended it again last week until March 2 at the earliest.
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