4.
4.
Following Sister Leung's resignation, a temporary Principal was appointed who decided to tighten up on discipline and admin- istration at the school. New contracts were drawn up for the teachers, which they interpreted as greatly reducing their say in the way the school should be run. The contracts also seemed to threaten them with instant dismissal if they refused to submit
to school authority.
5.
News of these new contracts reached the pupils, who organized a two-day sit-in to demonstrate against the new terms being imposed on their teachers. The pupils subsequently claimed that the sit-in was entirely their own idea and had nothing to do with the teachers. The Department of Education took a different view and the Director sent letters to all the teachers at the school warning them that any further demonstrations could lead to their being struck off the Register of Teachers under a seldom-used provision of the Education Ordinance. These letters have subsequently become a major bone of contention with certain of the teachers who claim that they were unwarranted and have therefore been pressing for them to be withdrawn.
6. In September 1977 the school began a new academic year with
A a new Principal, Miss Hilda Kwan, and some 20 new teachers. number of the original staff remained, including 16 who were to become increasingly involved in confrontation with the new
Principal.
Miss Kwan appears to have held rather less progressive educational views than her predecessor. This brought her into conflict not only with the old staff but also with a substantial proportion of the students. Matters came to a head in the first two weeks of May when there were sit-ins and other demonstrations involving the 16 radical teachers, 440 students and a number of parents. The Education Department carried out an investigation and concluded that there was little chance of a return to normality. As a result, the Acting Director of Education announced on 14 May that the school was to be closed.
2