Secretary for Education Eddie Ng Hak-kim on Friday promised that teachers made redundant because of falling enrollment in secondary schools will be retained in their positions for three years. Ng's promise came after a meeting with representatives of the secondary school principals' associations, to discuss solutions to the shrinking population of students in Form 1.

Falling enrollment has set the education sector in turmoil. There've been discussions laying off teachers, and even closing some schools entirely. The original lay-off policy assured teachers of only one year's employment before they were laid off. It would have meant that if teachers become classified as redundant, they were to be assured of continued employment for only one more year.

According to population projections over the next four years, Form 1 students enrolled for next year will be 59,700, 8 percent lower than this year. Another 4.5 percent decline is expected in 2014 with an additional 3.5 percent decrease are expected in 2015.

In order to ease anxieties in the sector, Ng assured teachers that they need not worry about being affected by the enrollment drain and to take more time to improve their training and enhance their abilities.

Earlier last month, Ng announced the baseline for "closing a school" would be lowered. Schools can avoid being "closed" if they have 26 students in two classes, down from the original plan of 51 students in three classes.

Despite the reassurances by Ng, the principals' association insists the government adopt the group's "three-two-one" proposal, in which the number of students in one class will be reduced by three, two, and one, for the next three years, to cope with the falling enrollment.

Liu Ah-chuen, convener of the Joint Committee of School Councils & Associations of Secondary School Heads of 18 Districts, said that Chief Secretary for Administration Carrie Lam had promised at the meeting that the Education Bureau will raise a proposal within a week.

Currently, the maximum number of students per class is 36. If the plan goes as the association has suggested, the maximum class-size will be 30 in 2015. Things are different in different districts, however. For example, in Tuen Mun, there will be a decline of 26.7 percent in the coming years, while in the Southern District, enrollments are actually going up.

"I think the three-two-one scheme will not be very helpful. The solution can't be one-size-fits-all, but (it) needs certain flexibility for different schools," said Wong Kwan-yu, principal of Fukien Secondary School (Siu Sai Wan) and chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers.

In the meantime, parents, concerned about their children's chance of getting into an ideal school, have also showed anxiety over why no group has reached them to explain the ongoing change.

The Hong Kong Parents Association said it has heard from parents, concerned over the issue, complaining that they are not being apprised of what's happening.

stushadow@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 11/10/2012 page1)