End dates marked as falling pupil numbers hit schools

Precious Blood Primary School in Wah Fu Estate in Pok Fu Lam will gradually cease operation starting from 2025 and close down for good after the 2028/29 academic year, citing the drop in the number of students and the plan to rebuild and relocate the public housing Wah Fu Estate.

Similarly, Rosaryhill School in the mid-levels, will also cease operation in 2026, but the principal and the Parent-Teacher Association chairman refuted the school's sponsoring body, Dominican Mission's claim of insufficient admission numbers.

The private school announced on Friday that the phased merger of its private kindergarten and primary section, with another private school Dalton School Hong Kong, will begin next September, while closing its aided secondary section after the 2025/26 academic year.

Existing secondary one to three students would need to transfer to other schools to continue with their senior secondary curriculum.

The school's sponsoring body said: "It is in the best interest of both the students and the development of the school to entrust its operation to an organization with extensive resources and expertise."

But the school's principal So Pui-ting, and Parent-Teacher Association chairman Baljinder Singh, stated otherwise, saying that the school has not faced challenges in admissions as claimed by the sponsoring body.

So said the school has seen a rise in student numbers in past years, and it had spent HK$2 million to install new facilities, including smart whiteboards, under the government's subsidies.

She accused the Dominican Mission of being unreasonable in issuing the letter less than 24 hours before the parents' meeting at 2.30pm on Saturday.

"All stakeholders, especially parents, do not have enough time to arrange to attend the meeting or even read the letter. This is absolutely unfair to those who were unable to attend the meeting," she said.

Ceasing to enroll new students would bring stress and insecurity to students, as transferring to new schools may hinder their chances of choosing elective subjects for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education exams, So explained.

Singh doubted the claims of "in the best interest of both our students and the school," saying all students, teachers, and parents were in shock when hearing about the school's closure.

However, in the case of Precious Blood primary school, it had been facing hardship since 2019.

"Under a sharp reduction in resources, the sponsoring body considered it is difficult for Precious Blood Primary School in Wah Fu Estate to further provide students with quality whole-person education," the school's sponsoring body, Sister of the Precious Blood, stated on Sunday.

In response to The Standard's inquiry, the Education Bureau said it was aware of the school's decision to cease operation.

"The Education Bureau will continue to communicate with the involved school, and provide adequate help and assistance," a bureau's spokesman said.