The closure order closed the school premises for a specific period (from 1600 hours on 14th May 1978 until 31st August 1978). As the period of closure was thus specified, the order amounted to a suspension of the activities of the school. Some confusion on this point may have arisen because the Previous Blood Jubilee Secondary School did not re-open under its former name and management. Yet, as the Committee of Inquiry pointed out, the decision of the Precious Blood Congregation to relinquish sponsorship of the school and to hand it over to the Catholic Mission was taken independently of the Director of Education's decision to issue the closure order. The registration of the school was never cancelled.
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Had it been the intention to close the school permanently, this would have necessitated cancellation of the school's registration. Under section 22 of the Ordinance, the Director of Education is empowered to cancel the registration of any school. By section 61, the supervisor of a school whose registration is cancelled may appeal to the Appeals Board, which consists of nine persons, including at least three registered teachers, appointed by the Governor. Notwithstanding the se provisions, the Governor in Council is empowered by section 69 to suspend a school's registration and, after opportunity has been given to the Supervisor to make representations, to cancel the school's registration.
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The Committee of Inquiry's concern was not that the allocation of powers was itself unsatisfactory, but that the closure order would have been more acceptable politically if it had been seen to be a suspension order, which is what in effect it was. The Committee stated in paragraph 45(a) of the Final Report:
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"Although the distinction between closure and suspension] is a very fine one and one perhaps of terminology only, since closure for a specified period would, in effect, be the same as suspension, public reaction to the one could be significantly different from that elicited by the other, especially in view of the attitude of those parents who felt aggrieved that the education of their children had been arbitrarily terminated by the closure.
In these circumstances the Director of Education considers:
(a) that section 83(1) of the Education Ordinance, instead of
referring to an order to close the school premises, should be amended to refer to an order to suspend the operation of the school in the premises named in the order. Such an order might then be referred to as a suspension order"; and
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