Kids, parents rejoice at schools' reopening

Many parents and students rejoiced when Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced schools will gradually resume classes, starting on May 27, as part of Hong Kong's easing of social distancing restrictions in the fight against Covid-19.

Hong Kong yesterday recorded zero infections for the eighth time in 10 days, with the tally standing at 1,041, including one probable case, and four deaths. A total of 920 had recovered and been discharged by yesterday. The last local infection was reported on April 19. For the past 16 days, the city has seen only single-digit imported cases on some days.

At a press conference titled "Hope on the Horizon" yesterday, Lam said the Covid-19 outbreak in Hong Kong has eased. "This calls for a lifting of social restrictions for society to run normally," she said.

Children had complained about being stuck at home since the Lunar New Year holidays in late January and parents had a hard time taking care of their kids.

A Primary Six student, Wong, said he was excited about seeing his classmates soon. "I'm so happy," he said. "I thought I could not see my friends and teachers before we part ways for different secondary schools. I will treasure the last month together with them."

His mother said she was even more excited than her son because she finally can enjoy some "children-free" time when her son is at school. "It was hell for both me and him for the past few months, although I understand class suspension is necessary for public health purposes. But as a stay-home mum, I really need some 'me-time' to relieve my stress while he needs to play with his friends."

But some are concerned about falling behind the curriculum. Secondary Five student Pak said: "Every school day is important for me because I will take the Diploma for Secondary Education exams next year. We are lagging behind the learning schedule so much and I hope we can pick it up with supplementary classes in the summer holiday."

The chairman of the Committee on Home-School Cooperation, Henry Tong Sau-chai, said parents of some Primary Five students also worry the exams in July would cover the whole year's curriculum when teachers do not have sufficient time to cover all of it.

Tong also said some parents of Kindergarten One and Two children complained about still having to pay for school fees despite their children barely attending school in the second semester.

Lam said the first batch returning to school will be Secondary Three to Five students, who will go to school on May 27, two days after the last DSE exam on May 25. They will be followed by Primary Four to Secondary Two students, who will resume classes on June 8.

The third batch of Kindergarten Three to Primary Three students will start school on June 15. But Kindergarten One and Two pupils would not go back to class this school year.

Secretary for Education, Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, said school resumption comes with many restrictions and special arrangements to make sure students return to campuses in a safe environment.

Half-day schooling will be adopted to avoid students' interactions without masks and classrooms will implement special seating arrangements.

Teachers and students should keep their masks on all the time, even during physical education lessons, as Yeung suggested doing non-vigorous individual activities such as running and stretching.

"Sports like basketball and table tennis that require sharing of tools should be avoided. If students really need to do vigorous sports without masks, they should make sure they are two meters apart from one another," he said.

Yeung said Secondary Five students need to have their school-based assessments, which are components of their HKDSE results the next year, and Secondary Three students need to choose their electives to study in the next three school years, so they are assigned to return to school as the first batch of students.

Primary Five students are another key group that needs at least one month face-to-face teaching before they undergo the internal examinations for secondary school places, while Primary Six students need to be prepared for transition to secondary school, he said.

As international schools are not used as exam centers for the HKDSE, they can resume classes in phases starting May 20.

International school operator English Schools Foundation told parents it would bring senior students back in school on or around May 20 but the exact date can only be finalized after receiving the Education Bureau's guidelines to schools next week.

On 27,000 cross-border students, Yeung said he is discussing with mainland authorities on how to facilitate their transport between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, which requires all arrivals to go through a 14-day quarantine.