The Education Bureau (EDB) announced today (August 22) that North Point Government Primary School (Cloud View Road) (NPGPSCVR) will merge with North Point Government Primary School (NPGPS) starting from the 2024/25 school year.
A spokesman for the EDB said, "In view of the structural decline in school-age population of primary schools in Hong Kong as a whole and the continuous drop in demand for primary school places in Wan Chai District where NPGPSCVR is situated, the EDB, being the school sponsoring body of government schools, has decided to merge NPGPSCVR with NPGPS, which is situated in Eastern District, 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."
"As NPGPSCVR was the former NPGPS (PM), it shares the same origin with and has similar backgrounds as NPGPS. The merger enables teachers and students of the two schools to reunite and extend the school history. It will integrate resources and leverage the advantages of the two schools to provide students with a better learning environment and richer learning experience so as to meet students' diverse learning and development needs. In addition, it will alleviate the situation of excessive supply of school places in Wan Chai District," he continued.
The merger will commence in the 2024/25 school year. From the same school year, NPGPSCVR will not participate in the Primary One Admission System and cease operating Primary One to Primary Four classes. It will cease operation from the 2026/27 school year. Students studying Primary Four to Primary Six at NPGPSCVR in the 2023/24 school year will complete their senior primary education in the school's original premises while Primary One to Primary Three students will be transferred to NPGPS in the 2024/25 school year to continue their studies. The EDB will render appropriate assistance to parents who wish to transfer their children to other public sector schools in Wan Chai District.
The spokesman said that both schools have discussed the merger plan with their respective School Management Committees. The schools will maintain close communication with stakeholders and explain to them the detailed arrangements as well as the support measures for students. Starting from the 2023/24 school year, the two schools will strengthen co-operation through organising various kinds of exchange activities for teachers and students, 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 NPGPSCVR and NPGPS 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. As the continual decline in future school-age population will be structural rather than transient, the EDB encourages the sector to plan ahead with a view to ensuring sustainable development of the school sector as a whole and effective use of resources while maintaining the overall quality of education.
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