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Following is a question by the Hon Lau Wong-fat and a reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (June 17):
Question:
Regarding rural schools, will the Government inform this Council of:
(a) the number of rural schools in Hong Kong in their heyday and, among them, the number of those which have been closed due to under-enrolment;
(b) the number of rural schools which are still in operation at present and, among them, the estimated number of those which will cease operation in the coming two years; and
(c) the government department(s) responsible for the structural safety and maintenance of the vacant premises of the rural schools which have ceased operation?
Reply:
President,
(a) As far as school registration is concerned, the Education Bureau (EDB) does not register schools specifically as rural schools. "Rural schools" are generally referred to those schools situated in remote rural areas which provide education for village children in the vicinity. These schools were mostly built in the early 1950s when primary education was not yet widely accessible. Compared with schools built in recent years, the facilities of these rural schools are far below standard. Many rural schools have only a few classrooms and in early years, some of them operated combined classes, i.e., arranging pupils of two or more class levels for lessons in the same classroom.
Based on the above understanding and according to the EDB's record, there were 103 rural schools in Hong Kong in 1997. Since then, 82 of them have ceased operation, among which 39 were closed under the policy of "Consolidation of Under-utilised Primary Schools".
(b) At present, there are 21 rural schools still in operation. One of them will cease operation in September 2009.
(c) The management and maintenance responsibility of the vacant school premises rest with the owner of the sites where the school premises are located. If the vacant premises of a rural school are situated on private land or land still covered by a land licence or a short-term tenancy, the management and maintenance responsibilities will lie with the land owner, the licensee or the tenant of the short-term tenancy. If the vacant premises of a rural school have been taken over by a government department for alternative uses, they will be managed and maintained by the department concerned. As regards vacant premises repossessed by a District Lands Office, the land concerned will be managed by the Lands Department in accordance with the prevailing land administration practices. If structural safety problems are found, the relevant District Lands Office will take appropriate follow-up action.
Ends/Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Issued at HKT 14:38
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