Hong Kong pupils react to axed Covid mask rules with mix of joy, nerves on first day at school after policy change
- Some students went to class with smiles on their faces after nearly three years of covering up, while many more kept masks on to calm their nerves
- Schools, kindergartens say they will respect pupils’ decisions on whether to mask up, while government urges parents, teachers to help children adjust
Pupils across Hong Kong have met their first mask-free at school in almost three years with a mix of joy and nervousness, with some youngsters seeing their classmates’ faces for the first time and others expressing unease at being among the few to go uncovered.
Teacher Helen Luk of Creative Kindergarten & Day Nursery in Kowloon Tong on Wednesday said the lifting of the city’s mask rules would help educators with instruction and supervising classes.
“It was previously more difficult to see whether children were participating in lessons, like whether they were reciting sentences or singing along,” she said.
The policy change also removed a roadblock to teaching, Luk said, recalling that a pupil had previously used his mask to conceal chewing his pencil lead during class.
“I noticed the student seemed to be biting on something. Only when I removed the mask did I realise he was chewing on pencil lead and his mouth was all black,” she said.
“For such incidents, if the students weren’t wearing masks, the teachers could have discovered them sooner.”
Lau Sing-yuen, a five-year-old pupil at the kindergarten, who had worn masks since he started classes, said he was nervous about going out with his face uncovered and struggled at first to recognise his classmates.