The closure of schools, the last frontier of censorship in Hong Kong

The government denied any chance of rescuing the historic Po Yan Oblate Primary School: no new classes will open in September, so it risks closing in 2026. The declining birth rate, coupled with the exodus of families following the application of the National Security Law is halving the number of potential students. Especially those who do not follow the Beijing guidelines are in danger of having to close.

Hong Kong ( / Agencies) – Officials from the Hong Kong Department of Education have rejected any possibility of rescue for the Po Yan Oblate Primary School, a historic Catholic school in the Kowloon district that is among the five that have not been has allowed any first grade class to open in the next school year. The application was rejected because only 15 pre-registrations had been received, one less than the minimum required. The school is therefore at risk of having to close in September 2026.

That of the Po Yan Oblate Primary School is a symbolic story of the difficult situation in which Catholic educational institutions find themselves today, which for a long time were one of the most important faces of the Church’s presence in Hong Kong. During the years of the great influx of refugees from mainland China – under the British Mandate – the diocese was at the forefront in responding to educational needs. And it was also in that area where the Po Yan Oblate Primary School was founded in 1965, run by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mary. A work that has grown over the years with the development of this area of ​​the metropolis: in 2000 it was card. Wu, then Bishop of Hong Kong, who cut the ribbon on the grand new building.

Currently, however, the climate is totally different and the educational system reflects this change more clearly. Already in the early 2000s, the then-Bishop Zen had led a long battle against school reform (driven by the local government after the handover to China and introduced in 2004), which established strong government control. in the management of institutes. The combination of declining birth rates and the flight of thousands of families from Hong Kong after the crackdown on protests in 2019 and the introduction of the National Security Law is now doing the rest. The figures speak for themselves: in 2017 – the year in which the children who will start school in September were born – 56,500 children were born in Hong Kong, compared to 60,900 the previous year. But in 2022, there were only 32,500 new births. Therefore, it is easy to imagine that the plan to “rationalize” the schools is just beginning.

But by what criteria does the Hong Kong administration decide who to save? In the case of Po Yan Oblate Primary School, the alumni association had mobilized to save it. They requested permission to launch, at least privately, a new primary class, and for this they promised to raise 3 million Hong Kong dollars (about 355,000 euros) to guarantee its operation. They also did so by emphasizing one aspect: the special attention that this school has always paid to children with disabilities. But all to no avail: on Saturday, some parents and students unsuccessfully asked to speak directly with the Secretary of Education, Christine Choi Yuk-lin, during an event held at a school in Lok Fu. The administration was adamant and even denied them permission to start private educational activities for the 2023/2024 school year.

Obviously it is not just a matter of balancing budgets: educational institutions are one of the fundamental arenas in which the confrontation around patriotic propaganda in Hong Kong takes place. It is no coincidence that universities were one of the places most attacked in the 2019 crackdown on the movement. In this context, the choice of which schools to continue supporting and which to suppress is not politically neutral.

Pang Siu-fong, president of the alumni association of Po Yan Oblate Primary School, told the South China Morning Post about another neighboring school that retained government support despite failing to enroll enough students. “It’s an injustice,” he complained, “our school cares unreservedly for students with special educational needs.” But for those who rule Hong Kong today, it must close anyway.