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Hong Kong

Church Revives Appeal For Judicial Review Of School Management Policy

Updated: January 26, 2009 10:16 AM GMT
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Hong Kong Catholic diocese has decided to revive an appeal for judicial review of the government´s school-management policy. Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong said on Jan. 23 that this is a better way to achieve the Church´s aim of exempting every Catholic school from setting up an incorporated management committee, as spelled out in the government´s policy. hk_hong_kong.gif"During negotiations with the local government, we realized that it would not agree to our demands. Even if it gives way, it would be a delaying tactic. So we (the diocese) decided to restore the appeal," the prelate explained to UCA News. The Court of Appeal has scheduled a two-day hearing for Nov. 17-18, 2009. Since the Education (Amendment) Ordinance was passed in 2004, the cardinal has been fighting for autonomy of school sponsoring bodies to directly appoint school management committees. The ordinance requires all government-aided schools to set up incorporated management committees to replace existing boards of directors, which have been appointed entirely by the school-sponsoring bodies. Each committee must include representatives from teachers, parents and alumni, and these sectors must elect at least 40 percent of the committee members. The Catholic Church is the largest school sponsoring body in the territory. In December 2005, Hong Kong diocese filed a petition against the government policy, worrying it could prevent the Church and other school sponsoring bodies from realizing their vision for education. In November 2006, the Court of First Instance ruled that "the constitutional challenges against the relevant 2004 amendments (of the education law) fail." The diocese then appealed the ruling, and the appeal hearing started in March 2008. However, the diocese and the Education Bureau reached an agreement to adjourn the proceedings sine die, without a fixed date to resume them. The local government´s Education Bureau has expressed regret that the diocese has decided to revive the appeal. A spokesperson told UCA News on Jan. 23 that the bureau and the diocese met regularly last year from April through October. "We made good progress, even though we did not formally reach a consensus," she maintained. However, Cardinal Zen said it looks like the government will not give the diocese an exemption, so "the problem cannot be solved if we do not make the appeal." In his analysis, "We have strong grounds and a reasonable prospect of winning the appeal." By the date of the hearing of the appeal, Cardinal Zen, 77, may have retired. However, he said this would not affect the lawsuit, because "it is not my personal matter but was decided by diocesan councils." Last December, the cardinal told local media that Pope Benedict XVI had agreed to let him retire in the first half of 2009, but the retirement date has yet to be announced. Michael Suen Ming-yeung, the Hong Kong government´s secretary for education, said last October that the deadline for full compliance with the ordinance could be delayed to 2012, since more than half of government-aided schools have not established the committees. As of Jan. 22, according to the local government´s Education Bureau, 43.6 percent of 380 government-aided schools had set up incorporated management committees. None of the 76 schools run by Hong Kong Catholic diocese, 71 Anglican-run schools, 18 Methodist-run schools and 15 schools run by Caritas-Hong Kong, the local Catholic Church´s social-service agency, have set up the committees. END

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