Walk to school, students advised as classes resume

Students should be encouraged to walk to school when face-to-face classes resume in batches starting on Wednesday, a member of the Subsidized Secondary Schools Council, James Lam Yat-fung, says.

More than 300,000 students of Primary One, Five and Six; Secondary One, Five and Six; and K3, will be the first to resume in-person classes on a half-day basis. The rest will return to school on September 29.

Pupils heading to schools on foot could reduce their risk of contracting Covid-19 on public transport during rush hours, veteran educator Lam said in a radio program yesterday.

"Let's say the walking distance from their homes to schools are within 30 to 45 minutes. It can reduce the chances of them going to crowded places, and it's also a good exercise," he added.

Tang Fei, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, said in another radio program that primary and secondary pupils should have separate break times to avoid gathering, as those in primary are more inclined to physical contact, whereas older students can obey social distancing more easily.

The Education Bureau's instructions earlier this month said it is up to schools to determine whether to suspend classes if an infection emerges on campus, although the Centre for Health Protection generally advises them to do so for 14 days.

But Tang said schools do not have the ability to make accurate judgements, so authorities should elaborate.

Education sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen urged authorities to react quickly if a staff or student is infected so the school can make swift decisions.

Meanwhile, education experts called upon schools and the government to enhance pupils' online learning, especially those lacking electronic equipment at home.

The chairwoman of the Subsidized Secondary Schools Council, Halina Poon Suk-han, urged authorities to subsidize students in purchasing e-learning tools.

She also said the government should allocate funds to schools regularly for their e-learning equipment.

Cheung Yung-pong, principal of the SKH St James' Primary School in Wan Chai, said schools should ensure internal exams for Primary Six students taking part in the Secondary School Places Allocation cover mainly face-to-face class curriculum.

"This does not mean online classes are of no use. They just shouldn't be the focus," Cheung said.

"We should not let digital barriers impede our assessment of students. This way, parents won't feel that it's unfair."