11-07-2025
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
Day school suspension amid limited rainfall leaves Hong Kong parents furious
Parents in Hong Kong have questioned the 'scientific basis' of the government's decision to suspend classes at all day schools on Friday, with some arguing their children's graduation ceremonies were cancelled despite little rainfall in the morning.
In a WhatsApp group with more than 1,000 parents, furious comments started flooding in at around 7.30am to complain about the decision.
'There is not a drop of rain. Due to class suspension, I still have to take special leave to take care of my children,' a parent, who was only identified as HT, said.
'No rain in the morning! I am so angry. My children study in private schools; it costs me every day. I can hardly understand why the government could not decide to suspend classes in the morning like in the past, but a day earlier,' another parent replied.
Their angry comments followed an announcement on Thursday by the steering committee on handling extreme weather, which is led by Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki, the city's No 2 official.
'To ensure the safety of students, and considering that schools across Hong Kong may have already started their summer vacation and the actual impact of class suspension on students' learning and teaching is relatively small, the Education Bureau announces that classes of all day schools, including secondary schools, primary schools, special schools, kindergartens, and kindergartens-cum-child care centres, will be suspended [on Friday],' the committee said in the press release that day.
