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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Fernando Cheung and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, in the Legislative Council today (December 17):
Question:
According to the existing policy of the Education Bureau, when Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 3 (Signal No. 3) issued by the Hong Kong Observatory is in force, classes of schools for children with physical disabilities and schools for children with intellectual disabilities are to be suspended (the class suspension policy), but classes in mainstream primary and secondary schools will be as usual during such period. As such, students with disabilities studying in the former will not have classes, while those studying in the latter under the integrated education can go to school as usual. Some parents of students of special schools consider that the class suspension policy has caused inconvenience to them as well as deprived the students of their right to go to school and, therefore, the authorities should explore feasible ways to assist these students in going to school. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the purposes of the class suspension policy; whether it has assessed how far such purposes have now been served, and whether the impacts of class suspension on studentsˇ¦ studies are proportionate to the risks to which they will otherwise be exposed;
(2) when the class suspension policy was formulated, the changes made to it so far, and the date on which it was last reviewed; whether stakeholders (including parents) and the Equal Opportunities Commission had been consulted when this policy was formulated and revised; if so, of the details, including the date on which the last consultation was conducted; whether the authorities will expeditiously review the policy and consult various stakeholders; if they will, when the review will commence and the time required to complete it;
(3) of the numbers of students with disabilities studying in mainstream primary and secondary schools who were injured or died in the course of their travelling to and from schools when Signal No. 3 was in force, in each of the past five years, and whether insurance compensations were provided to them as a result; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will review the coverage of the insurance policies procured by schools; whether it has assessed the differences in respect of the risks for students with disabilities who study in mainstream schools and for those who study in special schools in travelling to and from schools when Signal No. 3 is in force;
(4) of the number of days on which classes of special schools were suspended in each of the past five years because Signal No. 3 was in force; whether the authorities have currently put in place any measure (such as temporary day nursery service) to assist parents of special school students, who need to go to work as usual, in taking care of their children during class suspension;
(5) as teachers of special schools are required to work as usual when Signal No. 3 is in force, whether the parents of students of such schools have the right to choose bringing their children to school or otherwise; if so, whether the authorities have notified the schools and the parents accordingly; if they have not notified, whether they will expeditiously issue such notice;
(6) whether it knows the current respective numbers of special schools which have expressly discouraged parents to bring their children to school when Signal No. 3 is in force, those which have advised parents not to bring their children to school and those which have refused to let parents to leave their children at the schools who had already gone there; and
(7) whether it has assessed if the class suspension policy, under which students of special schools cannot have classes as those students in the mainstream schools do when Signal No. 3 is in force, has violated Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights relating to all persons being equal, Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights regarding the right of everyone to education, Article 23 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child about taking care of children with disabilities and offering assistance to their parents in caring for such children, as well as Articles 7 and 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities relating to persons with disabilities having the right to education on an equal opportunity basis?
Reply:
President,
My consolidated reply to Dr Hon Cheung's question is as follows:
It is a long-standing practice for the Education Bureau (EDB) to suspend classes in the event of tropical cyclones or inclement weather conditions. We cannot confirm when this practice was first put in place. Students' safety en route to and from school as well as the smooth operation of mainstream schools or special schools are the primary considerations when contemplating class suspension. Class suspension arrangements are disseminated each year to the public through information leaflets, and radio and television announcements of public interest. The arrangements are also reviewed and refined from time to time having regard to the views of stakeholders.
Under the prevailing education policy, subject to the assessment and recommendation of the specialists and with parents' consent, students with more severe or multiple disabilities are placed in special schools for intensive support services. Other students with special educational needs may attend ordinary schools. In general, students of schools for children with physical disability and intellectual disability have weaker self-care ability. Hence, these schools may take longer time and more extensive preparations to arrange for their students to travel to and from school in inclement weather conditions. In view of the potential risks that the fast-changing weather conditions may have on these students, for the sake of students' safety, the EDB will suspend classes for these schools when tropical cyclone warning signal No. 3 or above is in force.
If students have already set out for school when class suspension is announced under the abovementioned circumstance, schools for children with physical disability and schools for children with intellectual disability are required to activate their established contingency plans to ensure that the school premises are open and appropriately staffed until proper arrangements are made for arriving students to return home at an appropriate time. When class suspension is announced by the EDB, schools and parents have to act accordingly and take good care of the students. Schools are required to ensure that parents of their students are fully informed of the class suspension arrangements and the contingency plan in the event of tropical cyclones or inclement weather conditions. If enquiries or complaints are made from schools or parents in this respect, the EDB will take follow-up actions as appropriate.
As mentioned above, the decision to suspend classes is based mainly on students' safety while travelling to and from school. It is absolutely not meant to deprive studentsˇ¦ right to go to school nor go against the equal opportunity principle. In the past five years, the average number of school days having class suspended for reasons mentioned above is less than three days per year, and this should not have great impact on students' learning.
The EDB does not have the number of students with disabilities studying in ordinary primary and secondary schools who were injured or died en route to and from school when tropical cyclone warning signal No. 3 was in force nor any records of relevant claims made under the Block Insurance Policy. The Block Insurance Policy arranged by the EDB for schools aims to protect schools against financial losses arising out of their actions which result in accidental injury to any persons and employees; and/or accidental loss of or damage to any property, as well as to provide a financial consolation to students who suffer from accidental death or permanent disablement whilst participating in any school activities. Students travelling to and from school on self-arranged or public transportation are not covered by the Block Insurance Policy unless the transportation is arranged or provided by the schools, regardless of whether tropical cyclone warning signal No. 3 is in force. The EDB is of the view that it is not necessary to extend the coverage of the Block Insurance Policy to other types of transportation or public transportation.
Ends/Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Issued at HKT 11:28
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