Under-threat Hong Kong school barred from setting up private Primary One classes despite alumni vow to raise HK$3 million to fund scheme
- Former pupils of Po Yan Oblate Primary School in Wong Tai Sin say they are poised to start raising cash to save school, but plan blocked by education chiefs
- News comes after parents and children petitioned education chief Christine Choi for face-to-face meeting, but their appeal rejected
Hong Kong education chiefs have ruled out private classes as an alternative survival plan for a primary school which had its request for a review of its operations rejected.
The Education Bureau’s reply on Monday night came hours after the school’s alumni association vowed to raise HK$3 million (US$383,300) to run private Primary One classes to save it from the axe.
The Po Yan Oblate Primary School is among five schools that will not get government grants to operate Primary One classes from the next academic year after they enrolled only 15 children for the entry-level class, one short of the minimum number.
The school may face complete closure in September 2026.
Pang Siu-fong, the chairwoman of the Wong Tai Sin school’s alumni association, revealed to the Post that her organisation wanted to raise the cash to pay for private classes, but the school had not made a final decision.
Pang said it was unfair that another school located near the border, Sha Tau Kok Central Primary School, had retained its government support despite a failure to enrol sufficient pupils.
