School closure opens student wounds

Students of Rosaryhill School have slammed the sponsoring body's decision to close down the private Mid-Levels school as selfish and inconsiderate of their and teachers' feelings.

This came after a public spat on Sunday that ensued when its principal and the parent-teacher association chairman denied a claim of insufficient admission numbers by the sponsor Dominican Mission.

The mission said yesterday the decision was prompted by a continuous decrease in admission numbers that was causing an increasing financial burden.

It said the secondary student population was only 20 percent that of its prime years, while enrollment in its private kindergarten and primary section has "plummeted by a staggering 65 percent."

School supervisor He Yousun said "the decrease is alarming and has [put] significant financial pressure on the school sponsoring body."

The mission will set up a transition committee to liaise with staff and parents and get other aided schools and the Catholic Diocese to help teachers find other jobs.

The secondary section will close after the 2025/26 year. Current junior secondary students will need to transfer out.

A secondary three student, Chan, doubted the mission's claim, saying her class saw 15 drop-in students this year. "It is so selfish, as it has never considered the feelings of the students and teachers," she said.

A disappointed secondary four student, Senge, said the mission did not tell the truth.

"This is our school, and we must continue to study here We are willing to fight for our school if anything," he said.

A supply teacher, Ching, said the closure came as "disastrous" news to students and teachers at a parents' meeting on Saturday.

The school, he said, will further explain the issue during the morning assembly and provide students with counseling sessions.

Chu Kwok-keung, who represents the sector in the Legislative Council, called on the Education Bureau to intervene.

"Running a school is not like running a business, and you can't shut a school down when you no longer want to do so," he said.

He suggested the school be merged with other aided schools.

Chu also expected one third of secondary schools to close and said the bureau should address the issue on a larger scale.

Alumnus and Legco member Eunice Yung Hoi-yan said "the Education Bureau seems to have shifted the responsibility to the school sponsoring body."

Another alumnus, Eva Charisa Hsu, said hopes that the mission would go back on its decision were poor since the church has the right to decide not to operate a school as it owns the campus.

Hsu, a primary school principal, said other alumni have been offering help to the Rosaryhill's teachers and students.