The Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) announced in a statement yesterday details of its measure to merge Macau’s 10 public schools, according to which there will be five “through-train” schools each running kindergarten, primary and secondary classes from the next school year of 2022/23, a change from the only two “through-train” schools currently.
Macau’s total of 77 schools running in the current 2021/22 school year comprises 10 public schools and 67 privately-run schools.
According to the bureau’s website, currently only two of the 10 public schools are “through-train” schools that run kindergarten, primary and secondary classes, namely Seac Pai Van Public School (石排灣公立學校) and Zheng Guanying Public School (鄭觀應公立學校). The former is located in Coloane’s sprawling Seac Pai Van public housing estate, while the latter is situated in the peninsula’s Toi San district.
In Cantonese jargon, “through-train” schools are also known as “one-dragon” schools.
The other eight public schools comprise two only running secondary classes, five only running kindergarten and primary classes, and one only running a kindergarten – “Girassol”(“Sunflower”) Luso-Chinese Kindergarten (樂富中葡幼稚園).
The two public schools that currently only run secondary classes are Luso-Chinese Vocational and Technical School (中葡職業技術學校) and Luís Gonzaga Gomes Luso-Chinese Secondary School (高美士中葡中學).
The five public schools that currently only run kindergarten and primary classes are Flora Luso-Chinese Primary School (二龍喉中葡小學), Sir Robert Ho Tung Luso-Chinese Primary School (何東中葡小學), Northern District Luso-Chinese Primary School (北區中葡小學), Taipa Luso-Chinese School (氹仔中葡學校), and Coloane Luso-Chinese School (路環中葡學校).
According to yesterday’s statement, Luso-Chinese Vocational and Technical School, Luís Gonzaga Gomes Luso-Chinese Secondary School, and Flora Luso-Chinese Primary School will become “through-train” schools that each run kindergarten, primary and secondary classes from the 2022/23 school year.
Including the current Seac Pai Van Public School and Zheng Guanying Public School, the city’s public education sector will have a total of five public “through-train” schools from the next school year.
The statement also said that from the next school year Sir Robert Ho Tung Luso-Chinese Primary School and Taipa Luso-Chinese School will continue to operate with kindergarten and primary classes, while the Girassol Luso-Chinese Kindergarten will continue to be a kindergarten.
According to the statement, the Northern District Luso-Chinese Primary School will be merged with Luso-Chinese Vocational and Technical School – which is located in the peninsula’s Areia Preta district.
According to the statement, Flora Luso-Chinese Primary School and Taipa Luso-Chinese School will start running special needs classes in the next school year, which means that the city’s public education sector will have a school with special needs classes in the peninsula and in Taipa. Yesterday’s statement said that the new arrangement “will shorten the commute time” of special need students who are currently enrolled in special needs classes in the Coloane Luso-Chinese School. However, the statement did not specify whether the operation of Coloane Luso-Chinese School will be cancelled from the next school year.
The statement also said that the new arrangement “will offer most of the special needs students a more convenient location for them to go to school”.
The statement said that public schools are an important part of Macau’s education sector, underlining that the merger will not decrease the number of places in public schools available for students, neither will it decrease the number of teachers.
This undated photo taken from the website of Seac Pai Van Public School yesterday shows the school’s façade.
