District councillor calls for retaining Cheung Chau’s only school to protect rights of students on island who cannot afford to enrol elsewhere

Hong Kong education authorities have been urged to retain a secondary school on the outlying island of Cheung Chau as the century-old institution faces the axe after failing to enrol sufficient Form One students.

Cheung Chau Government Secondary School, founded in 1908, was unable to admit two Form One classes in the new academic year, the minimum requirement for government and aided secondary schools, according to education authorities.

Islands district councillor Mealoha Kwok Wai-man, who is based in Cheung Chau, said on Tuesday that the government should save the school to safeguard the rights of underprivileged students.

“Cheung Chau is a remote area and we only have one secondary school on the island. Though some students can afford to go outside the island to study at other secondary schools, the government should retain the school to let children from low-income families stay on the island to study,” she said.