Hong Kong church tries to help teachers affected by low enrollments

Published: 2004-08-11

HONG KONG (CNS) -- The Catholic Church in Hong Kong is trying to minimize teacher unemployment due to lower enrollment caused by the declining birth rate. Schools have to cut classes or merge morning and afternoon sessions into one, while some have closed, depriving many teachers of their jobs, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. The Catholic Church, the largest private school-sponsoring body in the territory, has more than 80 surplus teachers in its 136 primary schools. Hong Kong has 800 surplus teachers among all the territory's 785 primary schools. Alice Woo Lo-ming heads the Catholic Education Office, which coordinates Catholic schools in the promotion and implementation of Catholic education policies and projects. She said her office has encouraged the remaining Catholic schools to absorb the affected teachers.

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