Hong Kong class sizes swell after Easter, but one in five schools ready to welcome back everyone
- Return of all students to in-classroom learning is conditional on regular coronavirus testing for teachers, something about 20 per cent of city’s schools have agreed to do, according to the Education Bureau
- Some schools, however, have found it difficult to make screenings mandatory for teachers they say are already pressed for time due to their workloads
The end of the Easter holiday means even more Hong Kong pupils flocked back to campus this week under new rules allowing two-thirds of students to be present for in-person classes, but some schools say they are ready for more.
Relaxed back-to-school rules for Hong Kong’s 900,000 kindergarten, primary and secondary school pupils were announced last month – up from the previous one-third cap – amid an improving pandemic situation and the launch of the city’s mass vaccination programme.
Some schools this week began bringing pupils back on Wednesday or Thursday, while the rest would see students return on Monday due to differing holiday schedules.
“I feel it’s definitely time to relax the rules. Many students and parents have already waited so long for the [announcement],” said Lions College principal Kwok Yui-ham, whose school was this week bringing two-thirds of its pupils back to the classroom.
Kwok’s school in Kwai Chung welcomed more than 500 secondary pupils from four of the six grades in the morning, with another 120 expected in the afternoon, with social-distancing and infection-control measures in place.
Machines to screen temperatures and dispense hand sanitiser had been installed at the campus’s entrance while mask-wearing was required.
I can get more help from teachers and classmates for subjects such as [mathematics]. During home learning, there can be many distractions