ROOFTOP SCHOOLS(RT54)

Hong Kong in the 1950s and 1960s was in the midst of a post-war baby boom, which, together with the influx of immigrants, led to a population boom. At that time, there was an acute shortage of government school places, and ordinary families could not afford the high tuition fees of private schools. Voluntary and religious organisations were willing to set up schools, but there were not enough resources. In the 1950s, when the Government was constructing a large number of resettlement blocks, voluntary and religious organisations rented the rooftops of resettlement blocks from the Government and set up primary schools, usually at a nominal rent of HK$1 per annum. Rooftop primary schools thus became a means of education for children from ordinary families at that time. In 1969, there were 169 rooftop primary schools in Hong Kong providing basic education for school children in the resettlement areas. Most of the teachers and students lived in the resettlement areas near the schools and had a close relationship as teachers and students as well as neighbours. Rooftop primary schools usually offered Chinese, English, mathematics, social studies, civics and other subjects. In the early days, Rooftop Primary Schools were poorly equipped with wire mesh fences, concrete covers at the staircase entrances for classrooms and offices, and open spaces for playgrounds. Some rooftop schools did not have classrooms, and students had to learn in the open air on the rooftop, under the fierce sunlight in summer, and in winter they had to withstand the cold winter, which was very difficult.