'Very unlikely' all classes will resume by April 20

Classes are unlikely to resume by April 20, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said, citing the long battle against Covid-19.

Even when school resumes, it will be a gradual process, with older students returning to school first, Lam said before an Executive Council meeting yesterday.

The Education Bureau last month said all kindergartens, primary and secondary schools will remain suspended until April 20 but written tests of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education examination will go ahead as scheduled from March 27.

The government first extended the Lunar New Year holiday for schools until February 17, and further pushed back the class resumption date to March 2, and then March 16.

"Class resumption is a very tricky matter because we are talking about 900,000 students, especially those in primary schools and kindergartens," Lam said.

"At the moment I could not say categorically, but what I can say with a bit of assurance and support from the experts is they said 'Chief executive, don't expect to be able to resume all schools in the next month or so.'"

Lam said it would not be possible "because of the global situation that we have seen and especially because this virus is a bit tricky.

"There's a lot of pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic cases in society, so I'm saying that even if the situation stabilizes to the extent that we could resume, it will be in phases."

Senior secondary students will resume classes first, she said, adding "the chances of the very young kids going back to school, say within the next one to two months, will be quite slim."

Lam also said the government is working on the production and supply of children's masks with the Correctional Services Department.

Meanwhile, a survey of 600 parents found more than 90 percent worried that they will not have enough masks for their children after classes resume, according to the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.

The vice chairman of the Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools, Lin Chun-pong, said Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung had told principals that schools would be notified at least three weeks before class resumption.

"Principals in our association agree that classes should only resume when medical experts agree the outbreak has been stabilized and schools have procured sufficient masks and protective equipment," he said.

Asked if schools should cancel the summer holiday to catch up with their learning progress, Lin said many schools have adopted online learning and believed students are not greatly behind schedule.

But news that classes were unlikely to resume next month prompted some parents to demand a reduction of school fees. "I'm fine with class suspension. But can we cut some of the school fees?" a desperate mother wrote on an online forum.

"The burden is really heavy on parents. I paid for school but I had to take care and teach my children myself and go to work at the same time."

But another mother said: "I support extending class suspension. My daughter is still in primary school and she has yet to develop a sense of danger."

Meanwhile, Polytechnic University is expected to resume some face-to-face classes on April 6.

Clinical or field study of some courses will also begin next week.

The university said if the pandemic situation lasts, it is expected that online teaching will continue in the next eight weeks until the end of semester.

Meanwhile, the Education Bureau started disbursing anti-epidemic subsidies and support grants to schools and kindergartens to help them replenish their epidemic prevention equipment, clean their premises and pay for other expenses related to epidemic prevention. About 2,200 schools will benefit from the HK$42 million grant, with each school to receive HK$10,000 to HK$25,000.

Kindergartens will also receive an additional lump sum grant this month to help them tackle operational difficulties.

Schools joining the kindergarten education scheme will receive a grant of from HK$60,000 to HK$160,000.