The Education Bureau (EDB) announced today (November 23) that Lung Cheung Government Secondary School (LCGSS) will merge with Kowloon Technical School (KTS) starting from the 2022/23 school year.
A spokesman for the EDB said, "In view of the fact that the projected decline in school-age population of secondary schools is structural and there is a relatively sizeable surplus of school places in Wong Tai Sin District where LCGSS is situated, the EDB, being the school sponsoring body of government schools, has decided to merge LCGSS with KTS after carefully considering various factors, including education policies, changes in school-age population, demand and supply of school places, overall development needs of government schools and utilisation of government resources."
The spokesman continued, "Both KTS and LCGSS were former technical schools with similar backgrounds. The premises of KTS is spacious enough to accommodate the transfer students from LCGSS. The merger will not only alleviate the situation of excessive supply of school places in Wong Tai Sin District but also integrate resources of the two schools to provide students with a better learning environment and richer learning experience including a broader and more balanced senior secondary curriculum to meet the diverse learning and development needs of students."
LCGSS will cease operating Secondary One and Secondary Four classes from the 2022/23 school year and the operation of the school will end in the 2024/25 school year. Students currently studying Secondary Four to Secondary Six will complete their senior secondary education in LCGSS. Regarding Secondary One to Secondary Three students, they will be transferred to KTS for Secondary Four upon the completion of their junior secondary education. The EDB will render assistance to students who wish to change to other secondary schools in Wong Tai Sin District.
The spokesman said that both schools have discussed the merger plan at their respective School Management Committees. They will maintain close communication with stakeholders and explain to them the detailed arrangements as well as the support measures for students. Starting from this school year, KTS and LCGSS will strengthen co-operation through organising various kinds of exchange activities for teachers and students, arranging joint school curriculum and competitions, and more, so as to enhance the integration of the two schools and achieve synergy, with a view to providing students with education services of better quality.
The EDB will keep in view the actual needs and situations of KTS and LCGSS in the coming years and provide necessary resources and support to assist the schools in catering for students' learning and development effectively.
The spokesman reiterated that the EDB will continue to closely monitor the changes in student population and keep close communication with the sector. It is hoped that the merger will serve as a leading example for reference of other school sponsoring bodies and encourage the sector to plan ahead with a view to ensuring the sustainable development of the school sector as a whole and the effective use of resources while maintaining the quality of education.
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